Jackunzel One ShotShortsAU's
by Aurora Mandeville
Summary: A few snippets for several Jackunzel AU's, and a few one shots. Hope you enjoy! All characters belong to their respective owners (there are a few extras, like from HTTYD, Brave, Frozen, Justin & the Knights of Valor, Hotel Transylvania & Happily N'Ever After). Hope you enjoy!
1. A Sonnet of Seasons

The lonely maiden doth roam

Hoping to hear her true love come

He sees her wander from afar

But her beauty he cannot bear to mar

Shall he compare her to a summer's day?

Or like a flower blooming in May?

One mere touch from his icy hands

And he could wipe this beauty from the land.

Blow, blow, oh mighty winter wind

Your love will search for you till the end

She will not know you until you blow

Sing sweetly to her, sing high and low

Her beauty will only shine all the more

True love will bear all that's in store

For light and wind are equally matched

And a true love's kiss is easily snatched.

Listen, listen, there he is!

He is greeted with a loving kiss.

But that is all, for she fears

That he could melt into tears

But he can only grow stronger still

As true love has a stronger will

For when it binds together two hearts

Each soul must do its part.

Thus they walk together hand in hand

Walking together across the land

He does compare her to a summer day

Like a golden flower blooming in May

And he will blow, this winter wind

Singing a love song till the end

For never more will either roam

They have found in each other their home.


	2. Northlane Shoppe (Northanger Abbey)

"M-Mr. Overland! To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence?" Rapunzel quickly asked as she gave a swift curtsy.

Jack gave a quick bow in return, "Um, I have a very important question to ask of you, Miss Bennett." He gave a quick glance at her younger siblings, "Alone, if you don't mind."

"Oh, um, of course. Jamie, Sophie, please go ask Mama if Mr. Overland may join us for dinner. That is, if you don't mind," she turned to Jack.

Jack smiled nervously, "N-not at all, if your mother doesn't mind."

"Oh will you quit it!" blurted Jamie, startling the two adults. They glanced at him in surprise.

"Jamie! What . . ."

"Oh come on, will you two just quit it with the "do you mind" bit? Really, you should stop trying to so hard to ask her to marry you!" Jack's mouth dropped open as Jamie continued, "So just hurry it up and ask her, will you? Though, you are now definitely coming to dinner, you still have to talk to Dad."

Jack opened and closed his mouth until he somewhat found his voice, "Wh-what, how?"

Sophie burst out giggling as she dashed for the house, "Mama! Papa! Mr. Overland is asking Rapunzel to marry him!" Both Jack and Rapunzel blushed a bright red at the announcement.

"Sophie!" berated Rapunzel, but her sister was already opening the door and rushing in. Jamie merely let out a huff before making his way to the house at a slower rate, but when he got to the door he turned and winked.

"It was pretty obvious with the way she was talking about you! Besides, she thought she'd never see you again!" he grinned before disappearing into the house. Rapunzel turned even redder when Jack glanced at her questioningly.

"Um, would you like to visit Mrs. Gothel? I'm sure she'd be thrilled to see you."

Jack seemed to relax and smiled, "I'd be happy to drop in and say hello before dinner." He glanced at the house, "It might help my nervousness with meeting your parents."

Rapunzel smiled in understanding, "Oh, I'm sure Jamie and Sophie will be able to soften them up quite a bit before dinner. Shall we?" Jack nodded and followed her over to Mrs. Gothel's house. Though it was only next door, the two walked rather slowly, and silently.

Jack cleared his throat before beginning, "Actually, I came here to apologise for my father's behavior, it was rude and senseless. But, I am glad it didn't get any worse."

"Oh, no, I shouldn't have said such things. . ."

"It had nothing to do with your conduct. It was all based on a lie that neither of us knew about. Apparently, because he thought that you were going to be his, Stabbington exaggerated the wealth you were to inherit from Mrs. Gothel. And when my father found out the exact amount, well, he turned you out. You were only guilty of not being as rich as he would have liked, and you had no chance to defend yourself, for neither you nor I knew that Stabbington told him."

"But how did you find out?"

"From my father's rant when I asked him why he didn't straight up ask you or Mrs. Gothel. Really, that man doesn't know how to think or feel unless it comes to money."

"But what I said, what I thought was horrid enough to get thrown out."

"No, your imagination may have gotten away with you, but that was no reason for you to be thrown out. However, your instincts were true. Our mother did suffer at the hands of our father, but not through any physical torture, only through his greed. He only married her for her money, she thought it was for love."

"Oh, how horrible."

"One other thing," began Jack.

"Yes?"

"I have broken all ties to my father, I may never speak to him or see him again."

"What did he say?"

"Let me instead tell you what I told him, that no inheritance on earth, no matter how large, would persuade me from feeling bound to you by honor and affection. Will . . . Rapunzel I will no doubt lose my inheritance. I will never be as rich as I once was."

"That's alright, go on with what you were saying."

"Rapunzel, will you marry me?"

Rapunzel lit up like the sun, "Yes, oh yes, with all my heart!" She rushed into arms as they shared a loving kiss, the first of many. Soon the wedding bells rang, and not just for Jack and Rapunzel, but also for Katherine and Nicholas, Nicholas surprising them all with a sudden rise in wealth. And none of it would have happened without that chance encounter at Rapunzel's first ball in the city. Or was it chance? Though, they certainly like to think that it was fate that brought them together. After all, there really was no other explanation.


	3. Titanic

She had never been so happy as she had been these past four days, ever since she met him. He changed her life for the better, he had shown her how to have fun, he had shown her how to truly live. How could she ever thank him for that, especially now that, though his life was in danger, he was still protecting her? Sure, she had freed him from those handcuffs, but it didn't seem like it was enough for all that he had done for her, and was still doing for her. She glanced down at their hands, intertwined as if they were meant to be together. She glanced up in time to see him put a finger to his lips. She nodded in understanding, trying to slow down her rushing heart and her heavy breathing. But having to run through icy water was no easy task, and nearly sitting in it wasn't much better.

The slosh of a footstep nearly made her stop breathing altogether. He was still after them, and if not Hans himself, then one of his henchmen. How were they going to make it to the boats now? Jack had been insistent on getting her off first, but Hans seemed determined that if he couldn't have Rapunzel and her inheritance, he'd make sure both of them would die. That thought sent an involuntary shiver up her spine, who could be so evil? And more importantly, how did she not notice it before, or her mother? It took the appearance of Jack to bring this to light, at least for Rapunzel, her mother still thought Hans was the best guy in the entire world. Four more sloshes, they sounded like they were getting closer with every step. Jack put up a hand, signalling her to stay put before letting go of her hand and moving away. Rapunzel wanted to scream, to run, to do something, anything, rather than wait. But apparently Jack had a plan, and she needed to trust him. Just, what was he going to do? She hoped not fighting whoever was looking for them, Hans and his henchmen had guns, and were pretty good with them. She stifled a shivering gasp, whatever Jack was going to do, he had better do it soon, the water levels were rising, and fast.

"So, there you are, little princess." Rapunzel gasped as she glanced up at the man, his gun aiming at her head. ""Now, where's your scrawny boyfriend?" In reply, Jack gave a yell as he jumped the henchman from behind, causing the gun to go off, the bullet zooming into a nearby pillar. Rapunzel shrieked as two more bullets ricocheted harmlessly into the water before both men tumbled into the water, but Jack was back up quickly and hitting the guy as hard as he could. He finally got an uppercut on the guy, causing him to hit his head and knock him out.

Rapunzel rushed forward and grabbed Jack's arm, pulling him away from the scene, she didn't know how long that guy would be down, or when the other one would arrive, alerted no doubt by now by the gunshots. Jack broke from her grasp and rammed into the doors, splintering them open. Rapunzel pushed through the doors after him, pausing when she heard him gasping for air. The fight took a lot out of him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, she understood, he needed to rest, he had already put so much on the line for her. She glanced back at Stabbington, he was waking up, and raising his gun.

"Jack! Go!" She pushed him out of the way and followed him, right as a bullet whizzed by her head, hitting the wall behind them. She tried to go up the stairs, but Jack grabbed her and pulled her down.

"Come on!" They went down two flights of stairs before pressing themselves up against the walls. They could just hear the other Stabbington ask his brother what had happened before the two decided to go up the stairs after the couple. The couple waited a few seconds before Jack took to looking for another stairway, Rapunzel still holding his hand tight. They went through several halls before they found a stairway that looked drier than the rest and dashed up them. They soon found themselves on the deck, near the front of the ship, though everything was leaning towards the back. All the boats were already rowing away in the water.

Jack thought quickly, "Come on, we have to get to the very front!" They dashed for the front railing, going as fast as they could, swerving around people and objects. Apparently several others had the same idea, some already at the front railing, others following them. Jack found an opening between the people, and placed Rapunzel in front of him before grabbing the bars.

"Hang on tight!" She didn't need to be told twice as her hands wrapped around the bars and held as hard as she could. She glanced at the spot, and recognized it. It was the very spot they had first met. But terror gripped her heart, would this be the last place also? A loud crack resounded over the water, and everyone glanced back, the Titanic was breaking in two, and sinking faster. People behind them began to fall as the ship continued to tilt.

"We need to get on the other side!" Jack crawled over her and swung around the other side of the railing. "Give me your hand!" Rapunzel gave it to him, and with his help, also crawled over. She now could see the fast-approaching ocean.

"Jack, I'm scared. What if . . ."

"Look at me Rapunzel, look at me. We're going to get out of this." He clasped her hand and pressed his forehead against hers. "We're going to survive, I promise. If we do get separated, you find a boat . . ."

"But . . ."

"Listen, you find a boat or a piece of debris to get on, I'll find you, alright?" Rapunzel nodded mutely and closed her eyes, wanting to savor this moment as long she could, but Jack broke contact. She opened her eyes and glanced down, the water was almost upon them. "When I say to, take a deep breath!" Rapunzel nodded as her fingers tightened around his, she had no intention of getting separated from him again. The last time they got separated in this mess, he was handcuffed to a pole, where the Stabbingtons left him to drown.

"Now!' Rapunzel sucked in as much air as she could and held it, right as they went under. The two let go, but got caught in the draft of the still whirling propellers, sending them tumbling around, eventually separating them. Rapunzel began to panic, not only could she not see him, but her lungs were about to burst. She quickly made her way to the surface, where hundreds were clamoring for the attention of the boats and fighting to stay alive.

"Jack! Jack!" Rapunzel called out. She began swimming towards the lights of the boats when something sent her under the water. She fought to get back up, only getting long enough to take a breath before getting dunked again. When the pressure was released, she found herself face to face with Jack as she gulped in air.

"Are you alright?"

Rapunzel nodded, her teeth chattering as she replied, "I-I am, for now. This water's so cold."

"I know, I need you to keep swimming." Rapunzel nodded and followed him as closely as possible. Jack quickly found a door and urged Rapunzel to get on. When he too tried to get on, it nearly overturned.

"Wh-what are y-you doing?" Rapunzel asked when Jack didn't make another attempt.

"It's not going to fit both of us."

"We'll make it fit us both. Now you get on here, Jack Overland, and attempt to survive, or I'm rolling off and freezing with you. Take your pick," she barked between chattering teeth. Jack gave her a grin as he tried it again, this time with success. Rapunzel scooted over as far as she could so he could have enough room, the door just barely keeping them from being submerged. Rapunzel wrapped her arms around him, rubbing his back and his chest as fast as she could.

"Thank you, I feel so much warmer now," Jack stated, though his teeth was still chattering.

"Good, I don't need you freezing on me," gasped Rapunzel. Jack began doing the same to her.

"And I don't need you freezing on me either," he whispered. A noise resounding above the din of screaming voices caught their attention. Rapunzel had to get up a bit to see over Jack, a man not far from where they huddled alternated between blowing a whistle and shouting out for the boats to come back. Some time went by, Rapunzel and Jack alternating in warming each other up, until Rapunzel noticed that the whistle wasn't being blown anymore, and the din was quieted down to a few voices. She burst into tears as Jack held her close, this was it, they were going to be next. The boats hadn't come back, no doubt searching for rescue for the passengers they did have. But it was so cold that her tears dried up quickly. She was grateful for having had a chance to know him a little while, and very grateful to have him here with her now. "Rapunzel?"

"Yes?" she whispered.

"Th-there's something, I-I have to t-tell y-you," he whispered back.

"Wh-what?" she asked. She could hear his breath slowing down, her own matching his, and closed her eyes.

"I-I l-lo . . ." A voice rang out over the water followed by a light that flashed over her eyelids. Her eyes snapped open, and new life seemed to fill her at the sight, a boat!

"Jack, there's a boat! Jack!" She tried to get him to move, but all he did was moan softly, his strength ebbing away in the freezing cold. With all her might, she yelled, "Over here!" But all that came out was a croak, just barely above a whisper. She glanced around, and saw the man with the whistle. She rolled off the door and swam as fast as she could to him. Fresh tears spilled once she reached him, he was clearly dead. Putting that thought to the side quickly, she grabbed the whistle and blew as hard as she could. She blew it again and again, waving her arms as well as she could, though they were still very numb from the cold.

"Over there!" cried out a voice in the boat as the light flashed onto Rapunzel.

"Row! We have to get to her before she freezes!" called out a female voice. Rapunzel blew the whistle again before it dropped from her mouth, and swam back to Jack as the boat got closer.

"Jack! We're saved! Jack!" she tried to wake him up again, before several arms grabbed her and pulled her into the boat. "No! We can't leave Jack!" A red haired woman Rapunzel vaguely recognized as being one of the other first-class passengers reached out and pulled Jack into the boat. With some help, the woman's coat was wrapped around Jack and his head was laid in Rapunzel's lap, who was also bundled up in a blanket. Tears streamed down her face as she stroked his cold face, attempting to get him warmed up. She glanced up, and her eyes locked with the red haired woman as a tear streaked down the woman's face. The woman's face seemed to lock up as she turned to barking orders and shouting out for other passengers while waving the lantern. They managed to save a couple more people before they had to leave the wreckage and look for rescue.

It came the next morning in the guise of the Carpathia, where the passengers were greeted with warm food and drink, blankets, and a dry place to lay their heads. Thinking that she was a third-class passenger, Rapunzel was situated on the deck with the rest of third-class while the doctors on board tended to Jack, a good place for Rapunzel. She had no desire to see Hans, who she knew had to have made it. And it was that fear that prevented her from searching for her mother to let her know that she was alright.

But it was the very next day that she saw Hans meandering through the third-class, no doubt looking for her. Her throat began to close up in a panic, she couldn't let him find her or Jack. But the panic soon passed when he went back to the first-class, allowing Rapunzel a chance to breath. Her next thought was of Jack. Would Hans search the ship's sick bay next, if he hadn't already? She had to risk it, just to make sure Hans wasn't attempting to kill Jack again. When she got to the sick bay, she found out not only did Hans pass it up, but also that Jack was on the mend and would be able to get off the Carpathia when they arrived at New York City. She was unable to see him as the sick bay was packed and busy, but she figured he'd find her wherever she went.

The Carpathia finally arrived in New York City, after a few agonizing days of worry about seeing Hans again and Jack's health, Rapunzel felt that she could breath again. Even more so when they docked, and Hans was among the first to get off. She also saw the red haired woman who had saved them get off with another third-class woman and her baby. The rest of first-class and second-class filed off before third-class followed. Rapunzel was among the last to leave, watching between the doors leading to sick bay and the crowd surrounding the ramp, greeting loved ones as they got off.

"Care to ride off into the sunset, you stubborn woman?"

Rapunzel turned with a grin on her face, "As long as it's with you, you insufferable man." Jack chuckled as he pulled her in for a kiss before the two walked down the ramp, Rapunzel having to support Jack as he was still on the mend. They walked on through the crowd and into New York City, disappearing into the night.

Rapunzel sent a letter to her mother informing her that she was alive and well, and not to worry. As for Hans, they never saw him again, though they did hear of his death. But they made a happy life for themselves in America, Rapunzel never being as rich as she once was, nor did Jack wander again, their love for each other all that they needed to weather any storm.

(Fun Fact: Leonardo DiCaprio was the first choice for the voice of Jack Frost, hence why Jack's design was so heavily based on Leo. This was too good to pass up.)


	4. Sunflower & Snowflake (Miraculous LB)

The school bell rang, and teens rushed out of classrooms to get ready to head home. Locker doors were opened and slammed shut while some teens were talking, creating the usual end-of-school noise. Rapunzel was taking care of books in her locker slowly, glancing every now and then at the teens passing by. But she needn't have worried, his laugh resounded above the crowd as several girls called out to him.

"Hi Jack!

"How are you Jack?"

"Oh Jackie-pooh!" Rapunzel winced at the voice of the girl, one Lara Furst, as she ran up to Jack and grabbed his arm as if they were the real deal. "Where are we off to?"

"We? I'm heading home to change for a photo shoot, what were you expecting to do?"

"Join you, of course!" she smiled, batting her eyelashes at him.

"You're not going to be in the shoot," began Jack.

"I know, so I'll watch and take some notes. You know I want to be a model like you, and once we're married, we'll model together."

"What? You can come watch the shoot, but that's it."

"Yes!" Lara grinned, before shooting a sly glance at Rapunzel. That look simply made Rapunzel's blood boil, and she turned to her locker, right as Jack noticed the look Lara gave her and glanced at Rapunzel. A mischievous grin appeared on his face.

"You know what, as a matter of fact, why don't everyone come to the shoot? And then spaghettieis afterwards on me!" A cheer went up from his classmates, Rapunzel blushing furiously. Jack laughed, "Alright then, alright, meet me at Mauerpark at three o'clock!" He turned and walked away with a smug grin on his face, stuffing his hands into his pockets. His best friend Hiccup walked up to him, winked, and gave him a thumbs up.

"Wha . . . Jackie! Why did you invite everyone else?" whined Lara.

Jack turned, crossed his arms, and replied, "I saw that look you were giving Rapunzel. That wasn't very nice of you."

"What? But . . ."

"I expect all my friends to be treated nicely, not just the very few you select."

"Oh really, huh? You prefer hanging out with her rather than with me?"

"Keep this up, Lara, and I'll consider it," snapped Jack before walking off with Hiccup, leaving behind a stunned Lara. A locker door slammed, causing Rapunzel to give a little squeak as she jumped. She turned and glanced at the redhead, her hand still on her locker door.

"So, there's a chance Jack might like you back," teased Merida.

"Merida! Didn't you hear him, he obviously only thinks of me as a friend," replied Rapunzel as she turned back to fixing up her locker.

"That's right, Rapunzel, only a friend, a lousy one, if I do say so myself," sneered Lara as she got in Rapunzel's face. Merida put a protective arm between her friend and the bully.

"And didn't you hear Jack? He'll consider going out with her if you keep doing stuff, just like this. I mean, who's he going to believe, Rapunzel, or you?" Lara gave a soft growl before walking away.

"Thanks Merida," smiled Rapunzel.

"No problem, except, next time, stand up to her yourself. You're getting better at it, but you still need some practice. Now hurry it up, you don't want to miss the shoot!" Rapunzel blushed as she quickly finished up with her locker and walked out of the school with Merida. The two got a quick bite to eat before heading over to Mauerpark, getting there at 2:30. Jack wasn't there yet, but Rapunzel and Merida kept busy with watching the shoot get setup. By three o'clock sharp, the rest of the class had assembled, and the cameras were ready and waiting for Jack. Rapunzel noticed that Anna, Elsa, Moana, Talia, Mavis, and Ella had joined her and Merida, which could only mean one thing. Merida nudged her and pointed to the left, there was Lara, waltzing in, flanked by Ella's stepsisters, Kassandra and Regina, along with Hans and Justin.

"Ugh, I don't know what he sees in her," grumbled Talia.

Merida scoffed, "You're no better than Rapunzel, really."

"Merida!" whispered Rapunzel. Hiccup and Kristoff had joined the girls.

Talia placed her hands on her hips, "And what are you two doing here?"

"Jack's on his way." Hiccup pointed to the other side of the park, Jack and the photographer was approaching the set.

"Oh man, Jack Weiss and Vlad Dresdner, how will you ever cope?" Merida asked playfully. Rapunzel merely let out a little squeak, making the group laugh.

"Mavis!"

"Daddy!" Vlad embraced his daughter.

"Are these your friends Mavis?"

Mavis smiled, "Yes!" She introduced each one, finishing with, "And Rapunzel's a big fan of yours, Daddy, she wants to become a photographer like you!"

"Mavis!"

"What? I have a fan? Why didn't you say so! Come, Miss Grunewald, you shall be my assistant for this shoot!"

"Really?" squeaked Rapunzel.

"Yes, come, we are on a tight schedule. Places everybody!" Mavis quickly set about helping Jack with his wardrobe while Rapunzel followed Vlad around and helped with whatever he told her to do. He would ask her questions about lighting, backdrops, and camera angles, patiently teaching her the best routes to take to make a great photo. Finally, the shoot was going to begin. "Would you like to take the first picture?"

"What? Oh no, I couldn't, I'd probably mess it up."

"That is why I always make my first two photos practice photos. It is OK to mess up every now and then, but you should always strive for perfection. Go on, give it a try."

"U-um, O-OK," muttered Rapunzel as she approached the camera. She took a deep breath and glanced through the lens. Her heart was fluttering like crazy as the camera focused on Jack. She could see why Vlad liked working with him, he was so perfect. Her hands began to tremble as she stared into those brown eyes. Despite having brown hair and eyes, he was often nicknamed Jack Frost because of his cold and mysterious demeanor. Rapunzel took a step back from the camera, her hands were trembling even more. "I-I'm sorry, I-I don't think I can do it."

"Why not?" Then he noticed the look Rapunzel shot at Jack. "Oh, I see, well . . ." He leaned in and whispered, "I usually delete the first photos, but, if you'd like, I'll keep this one for you. Consider it payment for being such a good helper today." He winked as Rapunzel blushed furiously.

"Y-you will, for me?" Vlad nodded. "O-OK, I-I'll try it." Taking a really deep breath, she marched back up to the camera, and focused it. Taking another deep breath, she shot the picture, Jack striking a perfect pose right before she did so.

Vlad looked at the picture, "Ah-ha, perfect! You are a natural, Miss Grunewald!"

"Y-you think so?"

"Think so? Ha! I know so! I am, after all, the professional."

"What? Her, a natural? Oh, please, she couldn't do anything right to save her life, or her hair," sneered Lara. Rapunzel took a step back as she fingered her brown pixie cut, slightly hurt about the comment on her hair.

"Lara," warned Jack. Lara humphed and walked towards the camera.

"Here, let me show you how it's really done."

"What? Lara, don't! You don't even know the first thing about cameras!" blurted Rapunzel as she reached out to stop Lara from pressing a button.

"Well, obviously you don't know the first thing about me," retorted Lara as she shoved Rapunzel to the ground.

"Hey!" shouted Merida, though Vlad was already helping Rapunzel up.

"Lara, no!" Lara quickly pushed the button, but nothing happened, at least, according to her. Vlad and Rapunzel saw with horror the button that she pressed.

"No! No, no, no! All my photos, months of work!" He turned to her with a glare, "And, you, you stupid girl, you've deleted them all!"

"How dare you call me stupid! Do you even know who I am, who my father is?"

"Can he give me back all my photos?"

"Uh no . . ."

"Then he is of little importance to me! But you, you I will remember as being the stupid girl who deleted all my photos!"

Lara gasped, "Wha . . . Jack!" Jack had walked over to the scene, his face as hard and as cold as stone.

"Go, Lara, leave, now," he ordered, his voice just as cold and hard as his face.

"But . . ."

"No! You need to stop ruining everything with this stupid rivalry you have with Rapunzel! All it's doing is showing how stupid and immature you really are! Now, go!" Rapunzel just about stayed as still as a statue, she had never seen Jack so angry before, and made a mental note to never make him angry.

Lara took a step back as she gasped, "Would you do this to any of your other friends?"

Jack pointed behind her, indicating he wanted her to go, "If they were as stupid and immature as you, yes I would." Hans stepped up as Lara began to tear up.

"You wouldn't know a good thing even if it hit you in the face," he mocked.

"You obviously wouldn't know a bad thing even if it hit you in the face," snapped Jack. Hans' eyes widened before he growled and glared at Jack. He said nothing else, just led Lara away from the scene.

"I was afraid of this," muttered Vlad. "Oh, why did I think that doing this shoot with this memory card was a good idea?"

Mavis tried to comfort her father, "You didn't know someone was going to do something stupid like this."

Vlad sighed, "Yes, but, I do know there are people who do stupid things. I should have been more careful." He turned to Rapunzel, "Thank you, though, for trying to save my photos."

"Oh no, don't thank me, please, I failed."

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, his voice much calmer now, "But you did try to stop her, that's better than not trying at all." Rapunzel smiled sadly at him. He turned to Vlad, "What do you need us to do? I'll help you get those photos back."

Vlad smiled, "Thank you, Jack, but it is no use. Not even with your help could I possibly get all those photos in time."

"If, if you don't mind my asking, Mr. Dresdner, what were those photos for?"

Vlad sighed, "A book about Germany. Whenever Jack had a shoot in different parts of Germany, I always took the opportunity to take some pictures for it. But now, they're all gone, and the editors need them by next week."

"Oh no," gasped Rapunzel.

"You know what, let's hurry up and get this shoot done, then you can start by taking pictures of Berlin. We'll figure out how to get the rest later," suggested Jack.

"Thank you Jack, but I really don't see how we could get them in time."

"Just focus on one thing at a time, Mr. Dresdner, one thing at a time."

Vlad nodded before turning to Rapunzel, "Could you take the first couple of pictures? I feel the need to take a quick breather."

"Oh, um, o-of course, Mr. Dresdner."

"Thank you, I shall be just a minute." Vlad walked off, leaving the others to quickly set up again. Rapunzel had to take several deep breaths, especially once she realized Jack had left his hand on her shoulder that entire time until he walked away to get ready.

"Alright, we're ready!" called out one of the crew members.

Rapunzel took a deep breath, "Alright, here we go. Uh, Jack, just uh . . ."

"Look perfect?" Jack grinned.

"Oh but you always do! I mean uh . . ."

Jack chuckled, "Just take the picture, Punz. I can call you Punz, right?"

"U-uh, yeah, sure, just, um, let me take a couple of pictures." Rapunzel was never more glad to be able to hide behind a camera, her face was no doubt a bright red. But knowing that this was for Vlad's sake, she never once trembled nor misshot. She had taken six shots in total before Vlad returned.

"Ah, good, good, very good. Thank you, Miss Grunewald, I feel well enough to take it from here."

"Oh no problem, just let me know if you need any help." Vlad smiled sadly as he nodded. He went to the camera and adjusted it a bit before waving to Jack to continue. Jack nodded and got into his next pose, when his eyes widened.

"Eh, Jack, you are not supposed to be surprised."

"Uh, Mr. Dresdner . . ."

"Come Jack, there is not much time!" Vlad put his eye back to the camera.

"But Mr. Dresdner . . . no wait!" Vlad hit the button, as a shadow from the camera enveloped him. Rapunzel gasped as she recognized it at once.

"A nightmare!" People left and right began screaming and running away as Vlad turned into a taller version of himself, dressed in a black cloak, and had red eyes. When the transformation was complete, a shock wave was emitted through the park, and Rapunzel, having been the closest, was sent sprawling on the ground.

"Rapunzel, look out!" shouted Merida. Rapunzel turned around and gasped, Vlad's foot was going to come down on her! Somebody jumped in and rolled with her out of the way. When they stopped rolling, she was back on the bottom, her rescuer on top.

"Jack!" she gasped.

"Hey there, didn't think you'd try to be the damsel in distress so soon," winked Jack.

"What?" Jack didn't get answer as he was lifted off the ground, kicking and shouting at the nightmarish Vlad to put him down. "Jack!" Vlad stepped over Rapunzel and picked up Lara before walking off.

"No more perfect pictures!" He glanced at his two captives menacingly, "No more perfect models!"

"Oh no, I've got to change before he does something to Jack!" whispered Rapunzel.

"Rapunzel! Go find a place to hide!"

"What? Merida! Where are you going?"

"Sunflower watches my vlog, if I can keep track of the nightmare, she can save Jack!" Merida winked before dashing off after Vlad.

"Thanks, Merida," whispered Rapunzel.

Hiccup sighed, "I'll go with her to make sure she doesn't hurt herself."

Rapunzel smiled, "Thanks, you be careful too." Hiccup nodded before dashing after Merida. Rapunzel rushed to find a place to hide, but for a completely different reason. When she was finally alone, she opened her purse. A little lioness flew out.

"Alright, we need to do this quick."

"Right!"

"Chloe, grow out!" Rapunzel brushed her hand across the barrette in her hair before Chloe disappeared into it. The changes began with Rapunzel's hair growing long and golden, the barrette moving from the right of her head to holding back her now golden hair behind her. The barrette too had changed, formerly a pale purple flower, now all six petals were golden. A golden mask with pale lilac accents appeared on her face, covering from her nose to her forehead. Her clothes changed to a pale pink top complete with gloves, pale lilac leggings and boots, and a golden mini skirt shaped to look like the golden flower of her barrette. Once she was finished, she grabbed her hair and threw it at the closest lamp post, her hair quickly growing until it wrapped around the post. She pulled on it, and swung to the top. She unwrapped her hair and threw it again, swinging like that from building to building, until she got ahead of Vlad and his captives.

"Put me down! Help! Sunflower, come save me! I swear it wasn't my fault!"

"Yeah, sure, like that will help," scoffed Jack.

"What do you mean? Sunflower always saves me!"

"What about Snowflake?"

Lara scoffed, "Oh,who needs him?"

"I do, Snowflake and I are a team," came Sunflower's strong voice.

"Yay! Sunflower, quick, save us!"

"Maybe I won't."

"What, why not?"

"You don't talk bad about my friends." Jack shot Lara a I-told-you-so grin.

"Oh, fine, Snowflake is equally important as you." Sunflower's mask went up as she raised her eyebrow. "Alright, fine, I'm sorry I spoke bad about your friend! You happy!"

"That's more like it." With a grunt, Rapunzel jumped from the building and landed with her feet in Vlad's face, making him fall. With her hair, she quickly freed Jack and Lara. "Get out of here, quick!" She jumped back to the building, Vlad getting up. "Hey perfect, over here!" Vlad gave a yell and began to follow her away from the teens. Jack immediately turned and ran off, but Lara caught up and grabbed his arm.

"Jack! Don't leave me, please! Take me home."

"Go home with Hans or Justin, Lara, you're getting on my nerves. Now leave me alone!"

Merida scoffed from behind a tree, "She gets on everyone's nerves." Jack turned and gave her a hard glare before making a dash for it. This time, he managed to lose Lara. Once he was well hidden, he opened his jacket to reveal a six-pointed snowflake brooch and a little polar bear.

"We'd better hurry, Sunflower no doubt needs our help."

"Yeah, no doubt. Labran, freeze up!" Jack's hand brushed the snowflake before Labran disappeared into it. The changes happened quick, Jack's hair turned white, his eyes turned blue, he had a silver mask with ice blue accents, ice blue pants and boots, and a snow-white shirt. The brooch had moved from his shirt to his blue cloak, each point now sparkling silver instead of white. A staff shot out of the brooch, landing in Jack's hands, before he flew off after Sunflower and the nightmarish Vlad. He found them pretty quickly, the two were fighting pretty hard, Sunflower trying to get to the camera under his arm. Vlad finally got the surprise on Sunflower and hit her, sending her over the Brandenburg Gate. Jack raced forward, turning around just in time to catch her.

"Snowflake!"

"Hi princess, ready to take that nightmare out?"

"Of course. You'll distract?"

Snowflake grinned, "With pleasure."

"Good, the nightmare is in that camera. If at any time you see a chance to get it, take it. The sooner we can get this over, the better. Sounds to me like he wants to destroy everything that might seem perfect."

"Like me?"

Sunflower scoffed as she pushed him back, "As if."

Vlad took a step towards them, "Destroy all perfection! No more perfect!" Snowflake and Sunflower got ready.

"Alright, try to get the camera, and try not to get caught."

"You don't have to tell me twice," muttered Snowflake, wincing a bit in remembrance at how tight he was held.

"Ready? Now!" The two jumped from the ground as Vlad's foot came down in front of them. The two quickly climbed him, keeping as far away from his big hands as possible. Snowflake froze Vlad's right hand to his shoulder, and slid down to his feet.

"Frost and snow! Here we go!" Snowflake brought the staff down hard, tendrils of ice crawled around Vlad's feet as it encased his feet in ice. Vlad let out a roar and broke his hand free of the ice trapping it to his shoulder. "Hey! That was a great piece of art!" blurted Snowflake as he jumped out of the way of the giant's hand.

"Snowflake! More snow, less flake!" exclaimed Sunflower as she worked her way around Vlad's left arm to get to the camera.

"What? Oh fine, as long as you do more sun, less flower!"

"You know that doesn't quite work!"

Snowflake grinned as he rushed up to Vlad's left hand and froze it to his shoulder, "Hey, I've got to have a comeback." Sunflower groaned as she gave the camera a hard pull, but it wouldn't budge. "Sunflower, the ice isn't going to hold for very long!" shouted Snowflake as he leapt from the shoulder to keep Vlad's other hand occupied. "Neither am I! Think of something quick!"

"Hair and flower, show me your power!" Sunflower's hair began to glow at the tips, and a giant pair of scissors appeared. "OK, Snowflake, I need a minute!" She began cutting the straps of the camera.

"Good, because one minute is all I'm giving you!" Rapunzel huffed as she cut through the straps as quickly as possible. The camera fell, right as Vlad's hand broke from the ice. "Sunflower!" Snowflake raced towards her, catching her, and flew her and the camera a fairly safe distance away from Vlad. "Alright, do your thing."

"Right," Sunflower nodded as she broke the camera. The little nightmare tried to flee, but she quickly wrapped it in her hair, and sang, "Flower, gleam and glow, Let your power shine, Make the clock reverse, Bring back what once was mine. Heal what has been hurt, Change the fates' design, Save what has been lost, Bring back what once was mine, what once was mine." As she sang, her hair glowed, and golden, sand-like tendrils flew around, making everything look like nothing had happened. Even Vlad was returned to normal. When the song was finished, Sunflower opened her hair, and a golden pony emerged. "Bye bye, little pony." She smiled as it flew off into the sky, soon disappearing from sight.

"Um, where am I? What happened?"

Sunflower approached him, "Don't worry, everything's alright now." She glanced at Snowflake, "We'll take you back." A few minutes later, Vlad was back with his daughter, sharing a tender embrace. "Oh, look, your brooch! We'd better get out of here!" The two took off, but after a bit, Sunflower turned on Snowflake. "What are you doing? We're going to change back!"

"I know, but, shouldn't we know who we are under our masks?"

"What? Snowflake, I don't . . ."

"Listen, without my mask, I . . . there's not very many people who know me pretty well. You, you're really the only one who really knows me."

"But that's with the mask," whispered Sunflower.

"I know, but, I won't change for you."

"I don't know, a little change might be good for you," smirked Sunflower.

Snowflake grinned as he pulled her in, "You flirting with me, Princess?"

Sunflower let out a little squeak, "What? No!"

"But don't you want to know who I am?"

"I, uh, I don't think this is the place."

"Why not?"

"Prying eyes . . ." Sunflower glanced over, as did Snowflake, there was Merida and Hiccup, recording the whole thing. Sunflower took the opportunity, broke away from Snowflake, and quickly swung away. Snowflake let out a sigh, he had lost this chance, maybe there'd be another one. He turned and shot a hard glare at Merida and Hiccup, they just had to ruin it. If he had been able to hold on to her for just a bit longer, they would have changed back, and he would have found out who the love of his life was. But no, this had to happen. Letting out another sigh, he flew off, landing in a secluded spot just in time to change.

"Don't worry Jack, I'm sure you'll get your chance. Just give her some more time to warm up to the idea, OK?"

"But how much more time? I know she likes me, whenever she sees me as Jack, she just about flips! I just want her to know that Jack and Snowflake are one and the same person. Maybe, maybe she'll finally understand everything."

"And once you find out who she is under the mask, maybe you'll understand everything too," quipped Labran.

Jack smiled, "Yeah, I guess so. Come on, you'd better hide. I have to get back to the group." Labran ducked back inside his jacket before Jack took off for the park, getting there not much sooner than Rapunzel.

"Jack! You're alright, thank goodness! Where have you been?" Rapunzel asked as she rushed up to him. Jack gave her a soft smile, at least Rapunzel truly cared about him, more so than Lara ever did. Perhaps he'd ask her out just to annoy Lara, but that might have to wait.

Instead he replied with, "I took the long way around. It felt good to be without Lara for a while." He nodded in the direction of the five retreating teens.

Rapunzel glanced back at him, "I'm sure. Come on, you still have a shoot to finish. Are you up for it?"

"Yeah, the only thing big Vlad did was squeeze me, I don't think he was intentionally going to hurt me. I think there was still something of the guy in there, the guy I know who's been more like a dad to me than . . ."

"Jack, over here! Pronto!" Jack seemed to completely relax, Lara and her gang were gone, and Vlad was back.

He smiled and waved, "Coming, Mr. Dresdner! Hey Punz, think you could stay around for a bit? I've got an idea to get back all of his photos, and I might need your help."

"Really? Of course! Anything for yo-Mr. Dresdner!"

Jack laughed, he knew what she almost said, "Good, then let's go!" He turned her around and practically pushed her back towards the shoot, which they finished pretty quickly with everyone helping out. It wasn't long before Jack had everything set up, the class would get to tour Germany as they helped Vlad retake all of the pictures Lara had deleted unintentionally. And they were out to make a grand ole time of it.


	5. Jack North's Case (Hardy Boys)

The two young men pressed themselves up against the tree as best as they could while the light flashed around the yard. The younger one, Jack, had a mischievous grin tugging at his lips. Black might prefer the dark, but he still needed a light to thwart the Norths in their race to the treasure. The older one, Hiccup, was focused on two figures pressed up against another tree not far from them, visible to the boys, but completely out of the limelight. Merida and Rapunzel had insisted on going with them, but Hiccup only agreed to it as long as the two stayed far away from the mansion and would go for help at the first sign of danger. He let out a little huff, he would have to rely on Rapunzel's sense, Merida would dash right into the mess. That is, if Merida would actually listen to Rapunzel. He glanced at his younger brother, he'd probably end up dying from a heart attack because of those two.

"Hiccup, Black's moving," whispered Jack. Hiccup glanced over Jack's shoulder at the house, the light was definitely moving, and to the other side of the house.

Jack crouched before glancing over his shoulder at Hiccup, "Well?" Hiccup rolled his eyes and sighed before waving over the girls.

"Alright, listen, Jack and I are going to scout out the place, see if Black really is by himself. And don't do anything stupid, like trying to rush in to stop him or take him on by yourself," stated Hiccup, eyeing Jack.

"What? Is it wrong to try and stop the bad guys?"

Hiccup groaned, "No, but it would be best if you could do it smartly so you won't get caught or hurt by an obviously bigger man."

Jack scoffed, "I'm more slippery than that."

Hiccup sighed, rolling his eyes, "Whatever. OK, I need you girls to act as lookout . . ."

"Seriously?" mumbled Merida as she crossed her arms.

"Will you please let me finish? You'll get a piece of the action, don't worry. I just want to make sure Black is by himself before we proceed any further, we will need your help to catch him, especially if Kristoff doesn't get here with Chief Terrebonne soon."

"Especially since there's still something you wanted to check out before Chief Terrebonne got here, right?" The Norths grinned sheepishly and nodded slowly. Merida sighed, "What did you want to check out?"

Jack spoke, "The final clue to the treasure."

Rapunzel blinked, "What clue? I thought you had it all figured out!"

Hiccup nodded, "So did we, but we took a closer look at the rhyme, and at the pirate Pilbin Black. He wouldn't have made the clues to the treasure that obvious, all of the previous clues were hard to crack, so it didn't make sense that this final one, the rhyme, was easy. Or, at least at first glance, at second glance, things start to get complicated as there's too much to consider."

"Basically, we need to come at this from a whole new angle," blurted Jack.

"But, doesn't that mean Pierce Black is on the wrong trail?" asked Rapunzel.

"Yes, but he's still a criminal, Punz, and he'll still track our search for the treasure if we don't send him to jail for for his crimes," Jack promptly replied. He turned to Hiccup, "We'd better get going, Captain." Hiccup glanced at the house, the light a dim beam in the distance.

He nodded, "Let's go." He turned to the girls, "We'll be back in a sec." The two dashed off, splitting up and heading around the sides of the house, Hiccup going right, Jack going left. Jack kept as close to the house as possible and he skirted along it, peeking into each window as carefully as possible. Sure, he would just enjoy dashing in and being the hero of the day by capturing Black, but Hiccup was right, they had to be smart about it. It was no use getting caught when they were so close to not only finding the treasure, but also putting another criminal behind bars. Jack quickly peeked in one window, and just as quickly ducked. He slowly went back for another peek, there was Pierce Black, rummaging through the room. Jack watched in amazement, what was he looking for? The treasure was clearly in a tower! Unless, there was another reason, Black was a criminal after all, trying to con and steal his way through life, his records one of the dirtiest Jack had ever seen, and he had seen quite a few. One of the worst things Black could have ever done was kidnap children and sell them, and that was just not something Jack was going to let him get away with. Jack gritted his teeth as he watched Black rummage around some more in the room, he was going to make sure this guy went down, one way or another. Jack finally broke from the scene in the window to continue on. Keeping as low as he could, he crawled as quietly as he could to the back of the house. He didn't see Hiccup, but something else caught his eye. The wind had picked up, and Jack could smell the rain in the air when a lightning bolt flashed across the sky, and Jack noticed something glittering in the trees behind the house. Jack took a quick look around before dashing towards the spot he had seen the sparkle. When Jack burst through the trees, his excitement died down real quick, it was just the old two-story tower that Pilbin Black built for his daughter's enjoyment. Jack sighed and turned to leave before he paused, an idea sprang to mind. He turned back to glance at the tower, what if this was the tower? He glanced back at the house, he didn't see Hiccup, or anyone else before turning and dashing into the play tower. The ground floor was made to look like a great room, with the kitchenette against the north wall, a table and chairs set in front of it, with a sitting room set up at the southwest wall, and the stairs spiralling up at the east wall, with a picture of Pilbin's daughter Emily just to the left of them and a mini grand posing in front of it. Jack walked up to the painting, could she be the answer, was she the flower mentioned in Pilbin's rhyme? Jack went over it in his head: To find my treasure, you must go; Over the mighty moat you must row. Check that one off. Once there, head straight to the tower; And search for my precious flower. Well, if Emily was his precious flower, here she was. The final key is not far behind; Only push it soft and kind. Jack grinned, the piano! But which key? He glanced at the picture.

"Mind telling me which key?" he muttered as he brushed his fingers over the white keys. He blinked as he glanced between the picture and the piano, what if it was E, for Emily, and maybe even a B for Black? But then his face went blank, he didn't even know which key was which! He heaved a sigh, well, he had gotten this far, maybe Rapunzel could help with the rest, she was really the only one who had had any piano lessons, the few that she did have. But Jack was by now nearly bursting with excitement, he had figured out the rhyme for sure! He just had to look at it figuratively rather than literally, which they had been doing. He turned to walk out the door, but had to stop, a large figure loomed in the doorway.

"Now, what would compel you to come out this way, Jack North?" Black asked cooly.

"None of your business," Jack replied as he crossed his arms.

"Is it now? Are you sure? This is by right my property, you know, I could get you arrested for trespassing."

"I'd probably would only get a slap on my hand compared to what's waiting for you for your crimes," retorted Jack.

Black smiled with amusement, "Yes, I've committed quite a few crimes, some I'm sure my ancestor, Pilbin Black, would have been proud of, compared to my weak cousins."

"Are you trying to relive Pilbin's glory days, or something?"

"Come, come, now, you know bad blood runs in the family, why should I not embrace it?"

"Uh, because it's wrong to lie, steal, kidnap children, and cheat," blurted Jack.

"Oh, it's wrong to lie, now, is it? Then why are you lying to me?"

"I didn't lie, I only said that it's none of your business, and that is the truth."

"So, you won't tell me, despite the fact that this is technically my property?"

"Technically, this property belongs to Emily Jane Black, and the only reason why you're acting now is because, once she's married to Flynn, all bets are off for you."

"Oh no, Jack, I was just giving you a chance to tell me of your own free will, but I guess I have no choice now." Black stepped out for a minute and returned, pushing a bound and gagged Rapunzel in front of him, a gun to her head. "Oh come on, Jack, don't give me that look, it's pretty obvious that you like her. Now tell me what you know, or murder's going to be added to my list of crimes." Rapunzel's muffled cries just about cut Jack's heart in two, but he only snarled and clenched his fists.

"Fine, push the E on the piano, gently."

"No, you do it."

"I don't know which one it is!" Black cocked the gun. Jack put up his hands, "OK, OK, I'll try." He walked over to the piano, Black not far behind with Rapunzel. He took a quick look at the keys, how was anyone supposed to distinguish between them? He let out a sigh through clenched teeth and proceeded to push a key. A noise from Rapunzel made him pause and look at her, she shook her head.

"Oh, so you know which one is the E. Continue on to the next key Jack, we're wasting time." Jack moved his finger over the next key, Rapunzel shook her head again. She shook her head no for three more keys before nodding. Jack had his finger over the right key. He pushed it, as soft and as kind as he could. Nothing happened at first, until a large crack opened in the floor on the other side of the stairs, and opened wider until another set of stairs could be seen. "Jack, you first, be a good fellow and find us a light." Jack growled before walking down the stairs, pulling out a lighter from his pocket to look around. He found a few torches which he lighted before he saw the treasure.

"Whoa," he breathed, there were chests filled with gold, jewels, and coins, some spilling out onto the floor.

"Jack, don't you get any funny ideas!"

"I'm lighting up some torches! It's not exactly an easy job, unless you want to come and do it!" snapped Jack.

"Alright, but make it quick!"

"You bet I will," muttered Jack. He set about lighting the rest of the torches, glancing around quickly each time he moved on to another torch, looking for a way out or some way to distract Black. He glanced at the treasure every now and then, it was the best distraction for now, but for how long? He paused, something that wasn't glittering caught his eye. He stooped to pick it up, and grinned, it was a pocket knife! It was smaller than his own, to be sure, but if Black was going to search him for his pocket knife, this little baby might just go unnoticed. To be on the safe side, Jack thrust it in his left back pocket, his own pocket knife being in his right. For extra measure, Jack placed a couple of coins in each back pocket before heading back up the stairs. Black and Rapunzel were standing at the very top, waiting.

"Well?"

"Alright, the whole thing's lit up, if you want to come see your treasure."

"Good, I will, but first, bring down two chairs." Jack stared at him in surprise. "Come on, do it." Jack gritted his teeth as Black placed the gun against Rapunzel's temple before going to get the chairs. It was technically what he wanted, but he was still surprised by Black's order, and furious at him threatening Rapunzel. Once Jack brought down the two chairs, Black told him to have them back to back and to sit in one. Jack did as he was told, and Black tied them together. "There, that's better. Ah, finally, the long-lost treasure of Pilbin Black, and I have you to thank." Jack growled as Black merely grinned back and walked towards the chests. But the instant the gun was put away, Jack put his plan into action.

"Punz, see if you can get my pocketknife. It's in my right back pocket," he whispered. She nodded, and managed to fish it out after a couple of minutes, without letting a single coin fall. Jack took it from her and quickly set to work cutting the rope. "Keep an eye on Black for me, will you?" Rapunzel nodded again, her eyes going back and forth between Jack's work, and Black's overjoyed play with the treasure, laughing and whooping as he threw coins in the air. "I've almost got it. When we're free, you head straight up to the piano, and hit either the E or the B, one of those two has got to close the door. I'll make sure Black stays as far back as possible." The next second, the rope was off, and Jack motioned her towards the stairs, his eyes flitting between it and Black. Rapunzel took off the gag before heading for the stairs, Jack not too far behind. Black let out a yell and a few shots when he noticed their escape. Rapunzel shrieked as the bullets ricocheted off the walls. "Go, go, go!" Jack shouted, throwing the chairs in front of the stairway before climbing up. Rapunzel rushed towards the piano. "Push the B, just push the B!" Rapunzel pushed it, and the hidden panel slammed shut behind Jack. A muffled yell from Black came, followed by a few bullets through the floor. Jack grabbed Rapunzel's hand and raced towards the door, throwing it open only to stop and yell.

"Jack! Rapunzel! Thank goodness, you're alright!" Hiccup engulfed his brother in a tight squeeze, Merida doing the same to Rapunzel.

"Did I just hear gunfire?" asked Kristoff worriedly.

"Yeah, we got Black trapped in the treasure room," replied Jack.

"You, you two found Pilbin Black's treasure?" exclaimed Merida.

Rapunzel grinned, "Yup, it was more Jack though."

"Hey, you helped with the piano."

"Well, come on, show us!" exclaimed Hiccup as everyone moved into the play tower.

"First, why don't you tell me where you two were. I didn't see you when I made it to the back, and Black was able to capture Rapunzel!"

"Wait, how come you didn't see me? I waited for a good ten minutes before I started to worry. I went back to Rapunzel and Merida, they hadn't seen you either, so I went off to hail the police car in case Black had captured you!"

"Well . . ."

"And not long after Hiccup left us, we saw the light moving in the back yard. I went to find Hiccup, I thought Black was leaving the place, either taking you as a hostage with him, or leaving you trussed up in the house."

Rapunzel looked down, somewhat flushed, "I-I went to the house, hoping that he had left you. I was thinking I would free you, but, that's when, when he caught me and tied me up."

"So, where exactly where you if you were still free before Rapunzel got caught."

"Uh, I was, uh, watching Black rummage through a few things in the study. DId you really wait ten minutes?"

"Yes Jack, I timed it." Jack shot him a glare. "Now, would you be so kind as to show us the treasure room?"

"OK, as long as the Chief is ready to arrest Black."

Chief Terrebonne scoffed, "Boy, am I ever."

"Alright, have your officers ready right here," Jack said, pointing out the edge of the secret door. "Ready, Punz?" Rapunzel nodded, and pushed the E key. The door slid open more easily, revealing a rather defeated-looking Pierce Black.

"Pierce Black, you're under arrest for theft, embezzlement, attempted murder, and kidnapping. Officer Gordon, take him away."

"Right away, sir." Gordon placed the cuffs on him, and with another police officer, escorted him out. As soon as they exited, a young man and a young woman entered the premises.

"My goodness, is everyone alright?"

"Yes Miss Black, we're all fine. And perfect timing, if I do say so myself."

"Why's that?"

Hiccup grinned and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder, "Because Jack here just found Pilbin Black's treasure."

Emily gasped, "Really? Where?"

Jack grinned, "Wanna come see?"

"Of course!" Jack led the way down the stairs and into the room. Everyone gasped as they saw the sight of so much wealth.

"Wow, Emily, now you're rich! We can do whatever we want with all of this!"

"But I could never keep this much, I don't need all of it!"

"Then we'll give some to charities, orphanages, put some aside for our children's future, help out the poor, that's all easily taken care of," grinned Flynn. Emily hugged him and gave him a big kiss.

"That's a wonderful idea! I love you!"

"I love you too. Oh, and, um . . ." he quickly whispered something in her ear.

"Oh, yes, we should!" She grabbed a small bag and filled it with jewels and coins, before handing it to the Norths. "Thank you so much for everything."

"Wh-what? Oh no, we couldn't accept this," began Hiccup.

"What? Are you nuts? Yes we can, I've already got big plans for this money!" blurted Jack.

"Oh yesh? Like what?"

"Like, taking Punz out to the fanciest restaurant, maybe even buying her a new dress for the occasion."

Rapunzel gasped, "You mean . . ."

"Yes, let's make it official, Punz, let's go out on a date." Rapunzel squealed before giving him a big hug.

"Yes, let's!"

Hiccup sighed, "Oh, alright, I guess we will be accepting this." He took the bag from Emily and placed it in his pocket. "Come on Jack, we'd better get home, Mom and Dad are no doubt worried about us."

"Yup, no doubt our parents are too," quipped Merida, glancing at Rapunzel.

"Oh, alright," sighed Jack. But he winked at Rapunzel as they walked out, his arm still around her waist.

"And while you're at it, why don't you take a break from mystery-solving? Heaven knows you need it."

Hiccup laughed, "We'll try, Chief, but we can't make any promises." And how true those words were, for it wouldn't be long before another mystery came their way.


	6. Summer Gypsy (Hunchback of Notre Dame)

He climbed to the top of the cathedral as fast as he could and lifted the unconscious girl over his head when he reached the top.

"Sanctuary! Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" he yelled over the cheers. He quickly brought her inside a room and laid her down gently on the bed. "You'll be safe here." He kissed her hand gently before dashing back out to the roof. He glanced over the railing at the crowd below, an uprising had occurred in the minutes he laid down Rapunzel. But his eyes immediately saw a dark man, a man he once looked up to as a father-figure, someone he thought was the only person who would care about him, a man he now knew to be a monster, Peter Black. Peter's hate-filled eyes locked with Jack's own eyes, and he seemed to become more determined than ever to get into the church. Jack quickly searched around the top of the church for things to fight the invaders with. He found several loose stones and building supplies that he threw on the invading militia, toppling over ladders whenever they came up. With a smile, he saw Flynn fighting his way towards the doors, leading the crowd against the man who suppressed them for many years with his twisted take on right and wrong. A loud crack resounded over the din of the fight, and Jack gasped, they were getting through! But a portion of the crowd broke off from the main fight and attacked those attempting to get into the church. Jack smiled, they were winning! Just to be on the safe side, Jack sent a few more bricks over the side, helping the crowd as best as he could, before dashing back to Rapunzel's side.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel! We're winning! Oh man, you should have seen Flynn, he was great! Rapunzel?" Jack touched her softly before attempting to shake her awake. "Rapunzel, wake up, please." He brought her some water, hoping that might help, but when she gave no response, he began to panic. "No, no, no, Rapunzel, wake up! Please, wake up." He furiously wiped the tears off his face, "She's not dead, she can't be dead."

"I'm afraid she is." Jack spun and glanced at the speaker, Black towering over him like a tall spire.

"Y-you, you . . . liar! Murderer!"

"I did nothing of the sort."

"You killed an innocent girl," snarled Jack.

"She's not innocent! She is a witch, and she's torn us apart with her malicious spells!"

"No! She's only revealed the truth, shown me what you really are. You were wrong about the world, Black, and you're wrong about me. So stop lying, it isn't going to work on me anymore!"

"Ugh . . . Jack?" groaned a female voice.

"You're alive?" growled Black, revealing a dagger as he approached the bed.

"No!" yelled Jack as he pushed Black up against the wall, using the dagger to pin him there. He turned to the wide-eyed Rapunzel, quickly picked her up, and dashed out of the room while Black freed himself. When he got out onto the roof, it seemed that the duo disappeared. He checked behind a few of the gargoyles on the roof before turning his attention to the ones lining the church. There they were, Jack holding onto the mouth of one. With a growl, Black unsheathed his sword, but Jack was already leaping onto the next gargoyle as Black brought the blade down on the spot where they had just been. Jack kept swinging from gargoyle to gargoyle, staying just ahead of Black's vengeful blade. Jack tried to climb back onto the roof, afraid of letting Rapunzel fall, but he quickly pushed her onto the roof as Black's sword descended on the spot she had just been. Jack stood up on the railing, facing the man he once called a father figure. Now he realized the Archbishop was more of that to him than Black had ever been.

"You, trying to protect her, just like your mother died to protect you."

"What?"

"I should have killed you a long time ago!" Black tossed his robe over Jack's head, causing him to lose his balance and tumble off. Jack grabbed onto the robe to keep from falling to his death before he found a ledge to hang onto, the moment of his actions causing Black to go over. But both were still hanging onto the robe when Rapunzel appeared at the railing.

"No! Jack!" Rapunzel grabbed at Jack's hand, attempting to pull him up, but the weight of both men was too much for her already aching body. "Hang on!" Black swung over to the nearest gargoyle and climbed on it, right as Jack let go of the robe, his body succumbing to the exhaustion of his adrenaline rush leaving him. "Jack!" A maniacal laugh reached Rapunzel's ears. Glancing up, she gasped, Black was raising the sword over her head.

"And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the pit of despair." A crack resounded from beneath Black's feet, causing him to tumble. Gasping, he grabbed hold of the gargoyle, not long before it completely broke off from the church, sending both plunging into the depths below.

"Jack! No!" screamed Rapunzel as Jack slipped from her grasp and fell. A gasp of relief escaped her lips when she saw Flynn reached out and catch him. She rushed down the stairs, and found the two standing not far from the doorway. She gave a laugh of relief before hugging Jack. "You're alright, thank God, you're alright!" She glanced at Flynn, "The both of you."

"And you're alright, too," pointed out Flynn as he came in for an embrace with the two. When they separated, Jack heaved a sigh.

Rapunzel glanced at her friend with worry, "Jack, what is it?" For a reply, he merely smiled, took both Flynn's and Rapunzel's hands, and put them together. Rapunzel and Flynn glanced at their intertwined hands before smiling at each other in understanding, and kissed. A few minutes later, they emerged from the church just as the sun rose over the horizon. They were met with cheers and applause from the crowd, at least, Rapunzel and Flynn did. Jack stayed back in the church, but Rapunzel went to him and held out her hand. He cautiously took it, and followed her out into the sunlight. The crowd stood there looking between each other and Jack. What were they supposed to do? But it was a young boy who took the first step. He walked up to Jack, and gave him a tight squeeze. Jack was so surprised that he didn't know what to do at first, but he quickly returned the hug.

"Three cheers for Jack!" someone shouted. The crowd did more than that, they lifted Jack onto their shoulders and paraded him around town, giving him the hero's welcome he deserved.


	7. Winter Phantom (Phantom of the Opera)

Her eyes fluttered open, slowly at first, but then they grew wide. Where was she? And where was that gentle organ music coming from? She sat up on the bed and got a better look at her surroundings. The four-poster bed she had been laying on had pale purple gossamer curtains, two of which had been opened, allowing her a clear view of the rest of the room. The room itself was rather elegant, even though one could tell that the flowers were obviously fake, it was still lovely, decked out in pale blues, purples, and golds. She cautiously got out of her bed, trying to remember how she ended up in this place, and set about finding out where that organ music was coming from. The song playing sounded very familiar, like a lullaby from her youth. There were two doors present in the room, she first went to one, and then the other, hoping to be able to determine wherein the music was being played. Taking a breath, she opened to second door, and found herself looking down a hall, the end from which the notes of music floated towards her. She walked slowly and silently, the music seemingly the only sound in the quiet hall. When she entered the room, she saw a man clad in dark blue, almost black, playing away at the organ. That's when it all came rushing back to her, her Angel of Music was no spirit, but a man, a man who practically spirited her away to his underground home

"Rapunzel, my dear sweet Rapunzel, come to me!" he had called to her from the walls of her dressing room before the mirror opened, allowing her passage. Once through, she woke from her stupor, and realized with a start that her brilliant tutor, her Angel of Music, was nothing more than a mere man. After that she had fainted, and now she had woken up to find herself here, with her so-called Angel softly playing the organ. She ventured closer, now seeing that he wore a mask over his face, a wide-brimmed hat, and a pair of white gloves over his hands. What was he hiding? The music paused, and so did she, her heart pounding in her chest. She nearly wanted him to turn around so she could finally get a good look of him, even with the mask on, and she nearly didn't want him to either, perhaps giving her a chance to finally escape.

"There is nothing to fear, dear Rapunzel, I mean you no harm," came the gentle voice she had come to know over the years. The figure turned to face her, the mask nothing much but a blank, white mask, only his ice blue eyes were barely visible.

"Why did you bring me here? What are you hiding beneath that mask?"

Her tutor rose almost menacingly, "Do not ask what I am hiding, my secrets I hide for your sake. As for why I brought you here, I brought you here because of that boy." He got on his knees in front of her, "Dearest Rapunzel, I love you so much. Will you accept your poor Jack's heart?" He took her hand in his gloved hands, and pressed it to his mask. Rapunzel realized with a start that the gloves were chilled, should they not be warm? Her curiosity and fear began to grow, wondering what sort of man truly knelt before her, but she spoke of something else to mask her plan.

"My Jack? Is that your name, Jack?"

"It is the name I have given myself, yes. It works better than Angel or Phantom, does it not?"

Rapunzel gasped, "You're the Phantom?"

"Of course, did you not notice? That is how I know so much. The opera house is the only place I can call home, so it's only natural that I know of what's going on." Rapunzel nodded, and took the opportunity she had. She yanked off the mask and the hat with her left hand, and with her right, managed to pull off one of his gloves. Jack gave a shriek and backed up, grabbing a hold of a candelabra as he did so. Rapunzel shrieked in turn as tendrils of ice snaked up the candelabra from where his hand touched it, soon enveloping it in a casing of ice. "Why, you foolish woman, why? Why did you feel the need to know my terrible secret? See, there, now are you happy? You know it! You really, truly see Jack now! I was born with my hair this white, I was born with these powers! My hands are a blizzard, my breath the winter wind! It was by my own hands that my mother froze and by my breath that my father died of pneumonia! Now do you understand why I dressed thus? I dressed like this to avoid the jabs and stares of the common folk, but more importantly, to protect them from me, to keep them, and you, alive!" Jack fell down and broke into tears, Rapunzel's terrified form now backed up against the far wall. "And now, now my ray of sunshine will leave me, my spring flower will wither and die at my touch. Oh, you foolish, foolish woman!" For several minutes, the only sounds were of Jack's sobs and Rapunzel's trembling breaths. Jack glanced up as another sound entered the room, Rapunzel had collapsed to the floor and began crying. Jack walked over to her and picked up the glove that laid on the floor next to her. He put it on and bent to pick up the mask and the hat when she placed her hand on his arm.

"I-I'm sorry, please don't put the mask on, you don't need it with me."

"Are you sure?" A shiver went up and down Rapunzel's spine as the temperature seemed to cool, just from those three words. "You see? My breath itself could kill you."

"No, if I shiver it is because I think of your tragic past or your great genius." Jack raised an eyebrow, but as she rose, he dropped once again to his knees and pressed her hand to his lips.

"Then stay with me for a little while. I shall sing and play for you whatever you wish to hear."

"But, the opera?"

"I shall return you in time for that, my spring flower, do not fear. What do you wish for me to play?"

"Whatever you wish, I am still getting over the shock and the sheer loneliness of your existence." Jack rose and looked intently at her before gently kissing her cheek. With her hand still in his, he gently guided her towards the organ, where he played and sang. If Rapunzel closed her eyes, it was still the Voice that had enchanted her and befriended her in her youth, but when she opened them, she saw that the voice came from the pale figure with the power of winter.

Jack returned her to her room as he said he would, just in time for her to prepare for the opera. After the opera, Eugene attempted to see her, but she turned him away, not long after which Jack whisked her away again, back to his underground home. For two weeks she lived thus, only allowed outside under the watchful eye of Jack to get some warm air, his cave as chilly as freshly fallen snow. She finally got a letter through to Eugene, begging him to meet her at the upcoming Masquerade Ball at the opera house, promising to explain everything then. The day of the Ball finally arrived, and Rapunzel got a promise from Jack to be left alone, though, unbeknownst to her, he went to the ball under the guise of Old Man Winter. Rapunzel easily found Eugene, he was wearing the pirate costume she had asked him to wear, and was waiting at the base of the staircase. He noticed her approach, the blonde hair hard to miss behind the princess mask.

"Rapunzel?"

"Sh! Follow me, quickly and quietly!" she whispered before heading up the stairwell. He followed close behind, glancing around every now and then to make sure they weren't being followed, what she had to tell him sounded pretty serious. He yelped when he glanced into one of the doorways, a large fellow stood there, watching him, as if he'd been there waiting for them to pass.

He walked quickly to catch up to Rapunzel and whispered, "Who was that?"

Rapunzel glanced at the man he was pointing at, "Oh, that's the Russian, he's always at the opera. He's the least of our worries, come on!" Eugene followed her further up the stairs until they came out on the roof. Once the door was closed behind them, the masks came off and Eugene pulled her in for a kiss. "Eugene, please!" she exclaimed after they broke apart.

"But I love you! Surely you haven't forgotten, or has this voice of yours laid claim to your heart?"

"Jack is not a spirit, or a phantom, he is a man, as you thought he'd be."

"Oh ho, so your brilliant tutor has revealed himself, has he? Has he also pronounced his love for you?"

"He has."

"And what do you say to it? Do you return his love?"

"Not . . . exactly."

"Then you hate him?"

"Oh no, far from it! How can I when his love for me is sincere and pure, so much so that he'll crawl on his hands and knees if I wished it?"

"What? How do you even know that his love is sincere and pure?" Rapunzel took a deep breath and explained everything to Eugene, even revealing Jack's secret. When she finished, Eugene just stood there, stunned into silence. He finally broke the silence with, "You've been staying with this monster for the past two weeks?"

"Eugene, he's no monster! He would never harm me."

"Are you sure? You've only known him these past two weeks!"

"And you not much longer." Eugene snapped his mouth shut, she kinda had a point there. "Besides, I've known him for many years as the Angel of Music, my tutor, if he wished to harm me, he's had several chances to do so. But he has kept his distance, kept to the shadows out of fear of harming me. I may not know the world as well as you, but even I know that no man would wish harm upon those he loves."

"So, you do feel for him."

"How could I not at least feel pity for him? He has had no one else even glance at his face out of fear of either accidentally harming them or that they'd fear him."

"Neither of which was a concern when it came to you."

"What do you mean? He was afraid of harming me, and I am scared."

"Scared of what, my sweet?"

"Scared that his mind may have snapped in his years of isolation. How can anyone be so alone and not become crazy?"

"He wasn't completely alone, he apparently had you to talk with," muttered Eugene, crossing his arms.

"But I only knew his voice, as my tutor, I didn't really truly know who he was until now."

"So now what? You bring me here, tell me all of this, and for what? To make him look like a better person in your mind?"

"No, that's not it, Eugene. It's, I don't know, it's confusing and I want to make some sense of this. And I am scared, and not just of the possibility that he may have gone crazy, there's another reason, and I can't put my finger on it. It's all so confusing, and here I hoped that you could help me clear things up, but all you've done is make it worse."

"What? How did I make it worse?"

"By saying things about him when you barely know him! Really, Eugene, simply because he has uncontrollable powers, that means he's a monster?"

"Well . . ."

"How about this? You meet him, get to know him . . ."

"What?" Eugene asked incredulously.

"Then we'll talk."

"Did Gothel put this notion in your head?"

"What? No! Madame Gothel didn't even know that I was with him, though she does know he exists." Rapunzel paused and sighed, "If there's anything that's not confusing, Eugene, it's that though I was in a cave, I've never felt more free. It's always been with you, and now Jack, that I've had a taste of this." Eugene's eyes widened before a thoughtful look passed over his face.

"Alright, fine, I'll meet Jack and try to get to know him . . ."

"Yes!"

"But that doesn't mean I'll like him any less."

"What? Why?" Eugene merely smiled and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I will say this much, the guy's got good taste." It took a moment for Rapunzel to realize he had been complimenting her, and when she did, her face turned beet red.

Eugene chuckled, "Come on, let's head back down, you've got a meeting to arrange."

Rapunzel nodded, "I'll send you another letter when we're ready." He pulls her in and kisses her tenderly.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too," she whispered back. They kissed again before finally leaving the roof, a figure emerging from the inky blackness behind a statue not long after their descent to the ball.

A few days passed before Eugene received the longed for letter, letting him know that Jack would meet him after the next night's opera. The opera finally came and Eugene kept an eye on Rapunzel, her performance breathtaking, and an eye on Madame Gothel, unaware that a pair of glowing, blue eyes was also watching them, as well as him. About halfway through the performance, the lights went out for a brief moment, but was long enough for the singer on stage to disappear.

"Rapunzel!" gasped Eugene as others on the stage clamored with worry in the search for the missing lead. He dashed down to backstage, his fury growing with every step. How stupid he was! How could he have let himself believe that this Jack would actually want to meet him when all he wanted was Rapunzel? This was just a plot to make Eugene watch his love disappear and leaving him to feel helpless to do anything! His jaw clenched in determination, he was not going to let Jack win. He burst into Rapunzel's dressing room, calling out her name as he looked for the passage to the underworldly mansion. He happened to glance at the door one moment, and yelped, there stood the Russian.

"You search for Miss Canter?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"I can help, I recognised Mr. Winter's handiwork."

"Mr. Winter? Do you mean Jack?"

"That is the name he calls himself, yes, I refer to him as Mr. Winter for obvious reasons. Come, there is not much time." The Russian felt around the wall near the mirror not long before the mirror opened to reveal a dark passage.

"How?"

"Not much time, let's go!" The Russian dashed through the opening, followed not long afterwards by Eugene. "Stay close, no doubt easy to get lost in here. And though Mr. Winter may not know how to control his powers, that does not mean he will refuse to use them."

"Has he ever killed someone intentionally with his powers?" asked Eugene as the two hurried through the corridors.

"Yes, and made it look like freak accident, very easy for him to do in Russia."

Eugene just about choked, "And Rapunzel's with such a, a, a monster!"

"Let me explain, the noble he killed knew that Mr. Winter could use his powers effectively in Russia and get away with it, and wanted to use that to his advantage. But Mr. Winter did not want to kill anybody, though he eventually had to kill the noble just to be able to escape. I alone figured it all out, but by that time, the public understood it as a freak accident and Mr. Winter had already come to Germany. So I did the one thing I felt I could do, retire and come to Germany to watch over Mr. Winter."

"And now he has Rapunzel!"

"I believe we have already established that fact, Mr. Fitzherbert, but I do not think Mr. Winter would have acted thus had her life not been in danger."

"What?"

"Something else is hidden in the opera house, and not just Jack," was all the Russian would say on the matter, asking Eugene to keep quiet so he could lead them effectively to Jack's domain. After dashing through several corridors and crawling through a tunnel, the duo found themselves in a room with a glass wall. They walked further into the room to see what the glass peered into, when a noise from behind them caused them to turn.

"The door!" gasped Eugene as the door they had just walked through swung shut. It now looked no different than the rest of the wall.

"We will be fine, look, is that not Ms. Clemens?" Eugene's eyes followed the Russian's finger. Sure enough, as Eugene got closer to the glass, there sat Rapunzel on the other side. Her back was to the glass, her head glanced down as if she was in a melancholy mood.

"Rapunzel!" shouted Eugene. Rapunzel lifted her head and glanced around, just as a door opened. Eugene took a step back, so this was the monster who was holding his beloved captive. He saw the milky whiteness of Jack's skin and hair and shuddered, his ice blue eyes seemingly the only color about him. Jack's very appearance seemed to make the room grow colder, but Rapunzel seemed to take no notice of it and rose unafraid at his coming. Jack smiled at the gesture, the only thing seemingly warm about his countenance.

Rapunzel spoke, her voice clearly audible through the glass, "Jack, why did you bring me here so soon? Where's Eugene?"

Jack heaved a sigh, "He is nearly here, my sunshine, do not worry, I have made his way clear of any dangers."

"But, why . . ."

"So soon? It is because I fear for your safety, even his."

"What are you talking about?"

"I have discovered a secret, a secret so terrible that it could very well destroy this opera house and everyone in it, including yourself, a secret that has been hidden rather well, even from me. But now I know it, and . . . oh, Rapunzel, I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me, I had no idea." Jack sank to the floor at her feet, the sorrow evident in his voice.

"Wh-what didn't you know?" asked Rapunzel, becoming more and more afraid of this secret, of the danger to her and all those she cared about. "Jack, please tell me," she pressed on when he didn't reply. He merely sighed and brought her hands to his lips, an act which did not quite go over well with Eugene.

"I still have your word?"

"Of course, Jack, I never break a promise, you should know that by now." Jack just nodded as he rose and approached the glass wall. He touched something on the wall intersecting with it, and it opened. Rapunzel gasped when it opened, "Eugene!"

"Rapunzel!" The two quickly embraced, but Rapunzel stopped him when he tried to kiss her. "Rapunzel? What is it?" Eugene asked worriedly.

"I-I promised," she whispered.

Eugene glanced between her and Jack, "What did you promise?" Rapunzel glanced at Jack before sighing and turning to Eugene.

"I-I promised to marry him," she whispered.

Eugene backed up, "Wh-what?"

The Russian glanced at Jack, "What game are you playing at, Mr. Winter?"

"It's not a game, North, this is serious, and for both their good."

"How, how can this be for our good?" exclaimed Eugene.

"What is going on, Mr. Winter?" Jack only sighed in reply and put a ring on Rapunzel's finger.

"You will promise to come back when I send for you?"

"Y-yes," replied Rapunzel.

Jack nodded before putting the hand in Eugene's, "Then go. Make sure they get out of here, North. And the two of you don't come back to the opera house until I say so, is that clear?"

"Perfectly," muttered Eugene as he pulled on Rapunzel to get her out, but she pulled her hand away and faced Jack.

"Jack, why won't you tell us anything?"

"You'll find out for sure in the papers, once it's all over."

"But, I-I promised to marry you . . ."

Jack kissed her forehead, "I know, I release you from that promise. Now go, there isn't much time. Take the boat and follow the river out into the city."

"Wait a minute, hold on. You make her promise to marry you, only to release her from that promise minutes later? What kind of a madman are you?"

Jack smiled sadly, "One of the lonely, downtrodden kind. Now go, hurry!"

"But," began Rapunzel, but North was already ushering them out. They found the boat easily enough, and North rowed them away, safely into the city. As Jack foretold, they found out quickly enough the other secret that lay hidden at the opera house. Not only had Gothel been kidnapping girls from their homes and forcing them to keep alive a dying house, but that she would sell some of the no longer needed ones into slavery. North found out that Rapunzel had been one of those girls and was next on the list to be sold, Jack miraculously finding out only days before the purchase would have occurred. Not long after that, Rapunzel was reunited with her family, and the letter from Jack arrived. North and Eugene went to get him, but they found him already dead, and the three gave him a proper burial. North returned to Russia, and Rapunzel and Eugene were married. But every year, at the same time, they would return to a grave, the only three who would ever remember the Phantom of the Opera.


	8. A Valentine's Affair (Midsummer Night's)

Rapunzel crept out of the house as quietly as possible before making a run for it once she got past the gate. She continued to run until she reached a large oak standing just in front of the path to the forest. A young man not much older than she rose as she approached.

"Are you sure no one followed you?" he asked.

She nodded, "I'm sure Jack, don't worry. But to be on the safe side, let's put some distance between us and here."

Jack nodded, smiling, "Of course, come on!" Grabbing his bag with his right hand and grabbing her right hand with his left, Jack led the way into the forest. Some time after they entered the forest, two figures arrived at the very spot they had left.

"What? Emily, you said they were to meet here!"

Emily rolled her eyes, "I did, and they were. They've probably already gone into the forest, Eugene." Grumbling, Eugene tore through the brush. "Eugene, wait!"

"What for? Thank you very much for telling me about this, but I must deal with that insolent Jack and bring back Rapunzel!"

"I-I can help," ventured Emily as she followed him through.

"Oh no, you're not. This is no doubt another one of your ploys to get me to like you, but it isn't going to work. I'm going to marry Rapunzel, whether, you, she, or Jack likes it or not!" Emily began snickering. "What's so funny?"

"You really standing alone in this, aren't you? The three of us are all in agreement about this union between you and Rapunzel."

Eugene scoffed, "I have the approval of her parents, that's all the backing I need."

"Really? You're marrying Rapunzel, not her parents. Sure, they'll make great in-laws, but you're not going to be spending every day with them, you'll be spending every day with Rapunzel! She will be miserable because she knows her heart is with Jack, and that will eventually make you miserable. Is that really what you want? Or are you after her wealth?"

Eugene turned on her with a snarl, "And what makes you think Jack isn't after her wealth?"

"Because by running away with her means he isn't. Her parents will no doubt disown her after such a stunt, don't you agree?" Eugene blinked in surprise, he hadn't quite thought of that, but he turned and continued walking, Emily not far behind. The two walked in silence for a bit before starting to bicker again, unaware that a pair of sky blue eyes was watching them from the treetops. A smaller version of the figure, complete with the same sandy-blond hair, a pair of dove wings, and a bow and quiver, joined him.

"What has peaked your interest, Master Cupid?" Cupid's hands went to his chin and thought for a moment before answering.

"A couple has just passed beneath this tree, talking of love. She clearly loves him, but he is interested in another girl, and from what I could gather, this other girl clearly loves another boy, who loves her in return. Perhaps they may help us in my scheme."

The little cupid's eyes widened, "With Lady Toothiana?" Cupid nodded. "How, if I may be so bold to ask, great one?"

Cupid thought a bit more before replying, "Maybe, just maybe, we can help these four find their happy endings, and prove to Lady Toothiana that there is some hope after all."

The little cupid grinned, "That's a swell idea, my lord! Um, how shall we go about that?"

"Eros, I'm want you to follow those two, and find the other two. I shall send Anteros to help you while I find Lady Toothiana. Do not lose sight of them, and do not interfere in any way until I give the order, is that clear?"

Eros nodded with solemnity, "Perfectly, my lord."

"Good, now go, before they are too far ahead." Eros gave a bow and shot off through the trees, catching up to the bickering couple fairly quickly. Since he knew they could neither see nor him, he began to snicker. He chuckled louder as they continued, oh yes, they fought effectively for a couple who claimed they weren't in love, until the boy mentioned the girl's love for him. Eros paused, so Emily did love Eugene after all, just Eugene did not return that love? He let out a huff, he couldn't wait for Anteros to work his magic. Eros turned his attention to finding the other couple Cupid spoke of, figuring he could find Eugene and Emily again fairly quick, noting how loud they were. He sped through the trees again, searching for the other couple, he found them not further ahead on the trail, still walking, and holding hands firmly. A warmth seeped into his heart, ah young love, it most certainly was a grand thing and it always made him happy to see it. He glanced back at the path, now if Anteros could get Eugene to fall in love with Emily, then it would be all set. He let out another huff, but there was nothing to be done until Cupid gave the word. Eros decided to keep himself occupied by speeding back and forth between the two couples, a rather easy task considering they were walking on the same path. That is, until Rapunzel and Jack decided to get some sleep for the night. Eros began to panic, what should he do? Sure, it would be easier to keep track of Jack and Rapunzel now, but once Eugene found them? It would be all for nought as Eugene would no doubt fight with Jack, as he had been telling Emily, and promptly return Rapunzel to her home.

"Oh come on, Eros, think, think! What should I do? What should I do? Cupid's not even back, and Anteros hasn't arrived yet! Oh, think, think, think! Ah, I know, diversion! I just have to keep Eugene away from Jack and Rapunzel long enough. But, should I wake Jack and Rapunzel, or divert Eugene's path? Either one could prove disastrous!" Moaning, he flew around in circles, back and forth between the couples, noticing with rising panic the alarming rate at which Eugene and Emily shortened the distance. Thinking quickly, Eros found a piece of bark just large enough to act as a sled, and promptly sent Eugene flying down the path. Eugene screamed the whole way, but it didn't even wake Jack or Rapunzel. Eros promptly grabbed an arrow and sent it at Jack, hitting him right in the heart.

"Ow!" Jack promptly sat up and rubbed his chest, right as Emily came running past. "Emily?"

"Jack? Where's Rapunzel? You need to get out of here! Eugene's going to take her back home and marry her!" Jack just walked towards her, while Eros shrieked, he had just ruined everything. "Jack, what's wrong with you? Don't you want to run away with your love?"

"Oh, is that what you wish for, my love?"

"What? What nonsense is this? This isn't the time for a game, go get Rapunzel and get out of here!"

"How can I, when I love you?"

"What are you talking about? You've been in love with Rapunzel since you were kids!"

"That was when we were kids, we're now adults. Things change, and I now love you." Emily's eyes began to widen as she began to realize that Jack was being serious. Though they heard nothing, Eros screamed even louder and began to cry, he was so dead. Where, oh, where was Anteros? Jack proceeded to kiss Emily, but she pushed him away and shrieked before running away, Jack following her. That shriek finally woke Rapunzel, who got up groggily and glanced around for the source of the noise.

"Jack? Jack! Jack, where are you?" she called out. A rustle in the bushes ahead caught her attention and she pushed through, but she didn't see anyone or anything. "Jack, come on, this isn't the time for silly games!" But when he didn't reply, she began to get worried and tore through the bushes in the direction they had taken. "Jack! Jack! Where are you?" After leaving the area, the little cupid rose from the bushes, for he had caused the rustling to get her to go in the right direction. Another little cupid came up behind him.

"Hey Eros . . ."

"Yah! Oh for the love of trees, don't sneak up on me, Anteros!"

"Sorry! I've been looking all over for you! Where are the couples Master Cupid wanted to keep an eye on?" Eros let out a squeak and winced. Anteros sighed, "What did you do this time, Eros?"

"I accidentally shot Jack with a golden arrow, and now he's in love with Emily!"

"Wait, what?"

"Oh come on, let's go find them. I'll explain on the way." The two cupids shot off through the trees, looking for the two couples. Meanwhile, Eugene was getting himself untangled from the blackberry bushes and moonflower vines he had crashed into, Emily was heading in that direction with Jack still following and attempting to woo her, and poor Rapunzel was in the rear all alone, not knowing at all what had happened. When the little cupids finally caught up with them, Emily, Jack, and Eugene had just about run into each other, and Anteros was up to speed on everything.

"OK, Eros, stand back, I'm going to work my magic now."

"What? But Master Cupid said . . ."

"I know, I know, but I have to do something now. Once Eugene finds out that Jack now 'loves' Emily, he'll go for Rapunzel, and this will be all over."

"Um, OK, if you say so," muttered Eros. He turned, closed his eyes, and covered his ears. He still heard the faint twang of the bow, and squinted his eyes just in time to see the arrow hit its mark. Eugene had paused, his eyes dwelling on Emily.

He dropped to his knees, "Ah, my dear, I have wronged you so, Can you forgive me?"

Emily paused, suspicion and hope battling it out in her eyes, "U-um, yes, my dear, I, uh, forgive you."

"My dear? You're calling my love 'my dear'?" exclaimed Jack. Eugene rose to meet him.

"Oh man, they're still going to fight over a girl, except it's now Emily instead of Rapunzel," moaned Eros.

"Your love? Why don't you go back to Rapunzel? I'm going to marry Emily instead," Eugene stated as he put his arm around Emily.

"Nuh-uh, I'm going to marry Emily. Now get your filthy hands off of her!" Jack yelled before pushing Eugene to the ground.

"What in the world is going on?" Emily asked, though no one answered her question as the two men began to fight and the cupids couldn't reveal themselves.

"Oh no," muttered Eros. Rapunzel had finally arrived on the scene, her face changing from fear to relief to worry in an instant as she took the whole scene in. She rushed towards Emily.

"Emily, help me stop them!"

"Oh, Rapunzel, I don't know what's going on!"

Rapunzel glanced at her questioningly, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, for some reason, they're both claiming to be in love with me!" Eros winced and ducked behind Anteros when she said that.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, just that! I came across Jack a ways back and told him to get you and get out because Eugene was looking for you. But he kept insisting that he was in love with me! And now we find Eugene, and he's insisting he's in love with me too!"

"Well, I'm glad Eugene finally came around, but Jack? Are you sure?"

Emily burst into tears, "I'm sure! Let's stop the fight, and you'll see." The two rushed towards the two men and managed to separate them, Emily holding back Eugene and Rapunzel holding back Jack.

"Jack! What are you doing? Let's go!" pleaded Rapunzel.

"I'm not leaving without Emily!" Emily shot Rapunzel an 'I-told-you-so' look.

"Well you're not leaving with her, she clearly wants to be with me!" Eugene shot back as his arm went around Emily's shoulder again. Jack growled and broke from Rapunzel's grasp to engage in another fight with Eugene.

"Jack, stop it!"

"Eugene, come on, quit this!"

"What . . . is . . . happening?" asked Eugene as the two men fell to the ground, soon sound asleep. The women rushed to the check on them, before they too fell asleep. Eros and Anteros alone saw the golden sand surrounding the four as they fell asleep before watching it return to its master. Behind them stood Cupid, Toothiana, and the Sandman.

"Thank you Sandy," sighed Cupid, eyeing his two workers. Eros chuckled nervously and waved at them while Anteros rolled his eyes and sighed. Cupid crossed his arms, "Care to explain?" Eros winced and gradually told them what had happened, with some help from Anteros. Cupid groaned, "Alright, well, Anteros, you acted rightly. Now all we have to do is get the arrow out of Jack."

"My sincerest apologies, my lord," Eros bowed to his master.

"You did the best you could, Eros, I am glad that no real harm was done." He turned to Toothiana, "My lady, do you see now why I asked to come?"

Toothiana's face began to soften, "Yes, I do. But before we do anything, let's get these four cleaned up."

"A good idea, my lady." The two snapped their fingers, more little cupids and little tooth fairies joined them, the tooth fairies taking Rapunzel and Emily while the cupids took Jack and Eugene. Cupid and Toothiana oversaw the cleaning and clothing process before arranging the four by the forest's edge, Rapunzel in Jack's arms and Emily in Eugene's arms. Cupid took a phial out of his tunic's pocket and handed it to Eros. "Now, you shall fix this problem. Sprinkle some of this over Jack's heart, and the arrow will dissipate." Eros nodded, took the phial, and approached the four, Anteros hot on his tail to prevent any further mistakes. However, it was easy to distinguish Jack from Eugene, and Eros sprinkled the potion over Jack's heart. He saw with clarity his arrow melting away, soon it was like it had never been there.

"Shall we be off? These four have had quite the night, and you have made your point well."

Cupid bowed his head, "Thank you, my lady, and yes, let's." He offered her his hand, she took it, and the group walked away, leaving the four to sleep. When they awoke the next morning, they were surprised to find themselves not far from home. But it wasn't long before all was resolved, and a double wedding occurred, between Jack and Rapunzel, and Eugene and Emily. But they did have some invisible guests, that of Cupid, Toothiana, and their regime, all happy with the end results.


	9. Dreamland (Peter Pan)

The green eyes fluttered open, and grew with surprise as they were met, not with the ceiling, but with a pair of striking blue eyes. She let out a gasp, right before he did, which apparently woke up the dog. The dog lunged at the boy, who flew straight towards the window and out into the night.

"Abby, calm down, girl. Abby!"

"What is with that confunded ruckus?" Rapunzel glanced at her father as he and her mother entered the room.

"I don't know, we were all sound asleep when she began barking," remarked Jamie as he struggled to keep the dog from leaping out the window.

Sophie went straight to their mother, "Mommy, did Abby see something?"

Her mother picked her up, "That's what we're trying to figure out, honey."

"Oh, probably a bird. Come on, everyone back to bed. Abby, calm down or you're going outside!" Mr. Bennett's command was met with instant obedience as Abby calmed down and let Jamie guide her back to her bed. The children were safe, for now, but to be on the safe side, Abby slept close to Rapunzel. Rapunzel, on the other hand, pondered over those blue eyes, though she never told her family what she had seen, she couldn't help but paint them, keeping the art well out of sight. The next couple of weeks passed uneventfully, until the evening Mr. and Mrs. Bennett prepared to go to a dinner party.

"What is wrong with that dog? She's barking her head off, and it's going to drive me crazy!" complained Mr. Bennett after coming back in from chaining Abby in the backyard.

Jamie glanced at him with worry, "Dad, she only barks like that when there's danger around."

Mrs. Bennett nodded, "I know how she feels, I feel rather anxious myself. Oh, why did the party have to be tonight?"

Mr. Bennett placed a reassuring hand on his wife's shoulder, "I know dear, it's getting to me too, But we've already accepted the invitation and have no plausible reason to back out now. Besides, your sister will be here, we can have her take Abby up every now and then to check on the children." Mrs. Bennett nodded before ushering their children to bed.

"Mommy, will everything be alright?" asked Jamie, the frenzied barks of Abby could still be heard outside the window.

His mother smiled reassuringly, "Your aunt will be here, and Abby is just outside, I'm sure everything will be fine." As if to reassure herself, Mrs. Bennett walked towards the window and made sure it was closed and locked. Only then did Abby calm down, but she was watching the window like a hawk.

"Oh Mom, I wish you didn't have to go." Mrs. Bennett crossed the room and wrapped her eldest in her arms.

"I know dear, but your father and I already promised the Collinses that we would go. And we don't break our promises."

Rapunzel smiled, "Right." Mrs. Bennett kissed her eldest daughter's forehead before tucking her in. She did the same to Jamie and Sophie before turning off the lights and leaving the room. A few minutes later, the children's' aunt had arrived, and the couple was off to the party as the first snowflakes of the storm fell. Everything was quiet and peaceful, until Abby took her attention off the window. A wintry wind unlocked the window and pushed it open gently. A pale boy with a slightly glowing staff and a little fairy flew into the room, the boy quickly closing the window behind them.

"Alright, Baby Tooth, we've got to find that nightmare. Uh, you take the left, and I'll take the right." The little fairy nodded, and the two separated, the fairy heading towards the open toy box and toy house while the boy went towards the dressers and the beds. He immediately crawled under Sophie's bed, looked around for a bit before heading to Jamie's bed, and finally Rapunzel's. "Hmm . . . where is it?" The boy moved from the beds and checked the nearest corners and the dresser. "Baby Tooth, anything?" The fairy shook her head after she finished looking through another corner. "Oh come on, where is it? I know it's in here somewhere. Come on little shadow, where are you?" Baby Tooth gave a little shriek and pointed. The boy swiveled, a horse head reared out of the shadows menacingly and charged. The boy ducked to the side as the horse barreled past, aiming for the beds. "No!" the boy shouted. Rapunzel sat up in bed right as a beam of frosty light shot from his staff and struck the horse, freezing it. Jamie and Sophie had also woken up, and rushed to join Rapunzel up against the wall as the boy touched the frozen horse with his staff.

"Who, who are you? And what was that thing?" Rapunzel asked as she pulled Jamie and Sophie closer.

The boy grinned sheepishly as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Oh, right, sorry about waking you up. But that might have been a good thing considering that this is a nightmare. Oh, and I'm Jack Frost."

Jamie gasped as he crawled out of the bed, "Jack Frost? The Jack Frost?"

Jack bowed, "The one and only. And you are?"

"I'm Jamie Bennett, and those are my sisters Rapunzel and Sophie."

Jack blinked, "Uh, which one is which?"

Rapunzel got off the bed and curtsied, "I'm Rapunzel, Mr. Frost."

Jack bowed, "A pleasure to meet you, but just call me Jack. And I guess that means this little squirt is Sophie," Jack stated as Sophie latched onto his arm.

"Yup!" Sophie grinned. She pointed to the nightmare, "Was that trying to get us?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure which one of you, though, or even all three, but at least I got it before it did get to any of you." A soft tapping at the window caught their attention. "Oh, excuse me for a sec." He rushed over and opened up the window a little bit, allowing a stream of golden sand into the room. It went straight to the nightmare and touched it ever so gently, the nightmare shifting from black to gold in no time.

"Whoa . . . what's happening?"

"The Sandman is converting the nightmare back to a dream," explained Jack. The golden sand whisked right back out the window. The children rushed to the window to watch it fade away into the distance. Jamie glanced down, and gasped.

"Abby's gone!"

Rapunzel gasped, "Aunt Aurora must be bringing Abby up to check on us like Mom asked her to!"

"Well, go back to bed!" hissed Jack. The three Bennetts dashed back under their covers while Jack rushed to lock the window and hid behind the curtains. A couple of minutes later, Aunt Aurora and Abby stole into the room. Abby led the way and sniffed each of the children before Aurora took her to check on the window.

"Alright, the children are in bed and the window is locked. Really, I have no clue what's gotten into Frederick and Arianna to be so worried." With all seriousness, she looked Abby straight in the eye. "Did you put this silly idea in their heads?" Abby sat down, seemingly content with the check-up on the children. "Alright, let's head back downstairs so they can sleep. I won't put you back outside, it's too cold! Sound fair?" Abby gave a little nod before following Aurora out of the room. A few minutes later, the children bounded out of the bed and practically swarmed Jack, just barely giving him time to move away from the window as the questions came fast and furious in hushed tones.

"How did you get in here?"

"Where do you live?"

"Are Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy all real too?"

"Whoa, whoa! One at a time! I can fly, Rapunzel, and I used the wind to unlock the window. I don't use that power often, but this was an emergency. As for where I live, Sophie, I live at the North Pole with Santa. And yes, Jamie, they're all real, my little friend here is one of the Tooth Fairy's helpers. And guess what, even the Man in the Moon, the Groundhog, the Leprechaun, and a few others are real too. But you might not ever hear about some of those others since they only stay in certain parts of the world."

"Wow," all three breathed. Another slight tapping was heard at the window. Jack pushed back the curtains to reveal a trail of golden sand.

"Oh, right, listen, I'd love to stay and chat some more, but the Boogeyman doesn't exactly give up very easily. So, I've got to go fight some more nightmares. Come on Baby Tooth!" He opened the window, but a hand on his sleeve stopped him.

"Can't we go with you and see everybody?" asked Jamie.

"Jamie!" berated Rapunzel.

Jack turned and sat on the window sill, "And why would you want to meet the others?"

"Because I've always wanted to see the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, the Easter Bunny, and Santa Claus for real. Besides, Rapunzel could use some help to continue believing in all of you."

Rapunzel chuckled nervously, "Oh, that's not necessary, I'll take your word for it."

"What? And risk losing your faith in us? Not a chance." Jack turned to the golden sand and tapped on it, the fluid path solidifying with tendrils of ice. Baby Tooth began squeaking with uncertainty. "Oh come, on Baby Tooth, it'll be alright, they won't mind, much." The little fairy sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on, let's go!"

"Why can't you fly us there?"

Jack shook his head, "And risk dropping one of you? Not happening, this way will be safer. Come on!"

"Alright!" exclaimed Jamie as he hopped onto the golden path, followed by Sophie.

"Wait, Jamie, Sophie! Wait about Mother and Father?"

Jack shrugged, "We're going to Dreamland, time works differently. Hours can go by there while only minutes go by here."

"Wow! Come on Rapunzel! This is going to be fun!" grinned Jamie before he and Sophie dashed off.

Jack gave Rapunzel a hand, "Come on, we'd better make sure they don't do anything to hurt themselves. And besides, it'll be quick, I promise." Rapunzel sighed as she took Jack's hand and they dashed off after the younger two. The four traipsed over the golden sand as the path zipped them over the city, over the forest, and out over the sea.

After a few minutes of seeing the sea, Jamie turned to Jack, "How much longer?"

Jack rolled his eyes, "Just a bit more, the island's always moving."

"Really? Cool!" Jamie turned to keep an eye out for the moving island, along with Sophie. The four walked in silence a ways before Sophie gave out a shriek.

"There it is!" She pointed, down below, an island could be seen moving slowly. It looked almost like a tiny galaxy, with long tendrils spiraling out from the center.

"Yup, that's it," grinned Jack.

"But, how do we get down?" asked Jamie. They had reached the end of the path, not much between them and the three hundred foot drop.

"Watch." A few seconds after Jack touched the path again, an ice slide formed, ending right where the island was moving past.

"Whoa," breathed the Bennetts as they stared on in shock.

"Well, come on, you want to meet the Sandman, don't you?" The Bennetts nodded as one after the other slid down the slide, whooping and hollering. Chuckling, Jack flew past them, ready to catch them at the bottom.

"Woohoo! That was awesome!" exclaimed Jamie when he reached the bottom.

Sophie grabbed on Jack's arm, "I want to do that again!"

Jack chuckled, "Sure, but first, let's go meet the Sandman."

"Right!" stated Jamie before he and his sisters followed Jack over the sand dunes. He led them to the largest dune, atop which slept a little man surrounded by mermaids.

"Ooh, pretty!" gasped Sophie.

"How lovely!" breathed Rapunzel. The Sandman opened his eyes, and, though surprised at seeing the children, smiled and waved.

"Hi Sandy! Great to see you old pal, these kids wanted to meet you. Sandman, this Rapunzel, Jamie, and Sophie Bennett. Guys, this is the Sandman." A group of pictures flashed above Sandy's head. "Whoa whoa, Sandy, slow down! I can't read that fast!" Sandy let out a breath and began again. The pictures flashed by a little more slowly, allowing them to see a nightmare, a pirate, a boat, a cave, and the three Bennetts. "So, the Boogeyman sent out his nightmares to find a boat?" The Sandman nodded and showed the image of the Bennetts again, this time surrounded by nightmares. "And they're looking for them?" Another nod.

"But why us?" asked Rapunzel. A pair of eyes appeared above the Sandman's head, and they opened.

"They're the only ones awake?" Sandy nodded and another image appeared over his head, this time of an hourglass. "And we're running out of time." Jack sighed, "OK, sorry kids, I've got to get you back home, you'll be safer there. Sorry." Sandman patted Jack on the shoulder understandingly and put up a finger. Turning to the sand dune he had been sleeping on, he began to form it into a four-seater airplane.

"Whoa," breathed the children.

"That is so cool!" grinned Jamie. The Sandman made a hat out of dreamsand and made a bow with it. He jumped into the plane and waved the children over.

"But what about Jack?" asked Rapunzel once everyone else was seated.

"Hey, I can fly, remember? Don't worry, I can keep up," Jack grinned. He turned to the Sandman, "Hey, um, think we could show them the others real quick?" Sandy blinked before sighing and nodded. They whooped with excitement as the plane took off, heading up north. After visiting the North Pole for several hours, they went to the Easter Bunny's Warren before finishing up at the Tooth Palace, all while learning about the duties of the Guardians. Sandy returned to his island and showed them around real quick before announcing that the children truly had to go home. Moaning and yawning, they climbed back into the plane. The engines started up and they took off, just as an ominous, black shape crept out from the mist and rammed into the little airplane, sending the three children screaming into the sea.

"No!" yelled Jack as he dove into the water after them. All four heads rose above the water, gasping for breath, right before a net was lowered and swooped them up as the ship flew away into the night. The net was dropped on the deck and the children tumbled out, giving a pirate enough time to grab Jack's staff. Jack still took a protective stance, keeping the Bennetts behind him, though they were surrounded and he was clearly outnumbered at least thirty to one. The pirates moved aside, and a dark figure approached Jack. "Pitch," he growled.

Pitch Black smiled, "Hello, Frost, I really should thank you, you've brought me such wonderful specimens on the longest night of the year."

"What do you want with them?" hissed Jack.

"Oh, I'll turn maybe, one, two, or even all three into my darkling prince and princesses. You know, I rather like the idea of having a little family."

"You monster."

"Oh, Jack, I'm not the monster, after all, I wasn't the one who put them in harm's way." Pitch smiled cruelly as Jack's face went from anger to surprise and hurt.

"No! It wasn't Jack's fault, I wanted to meet the Guardians!" Jamie blurted.

"That may be, but Jack knew that I was out looking for an appropriate child to claim for my own this night, the longest and darkest of all nights." Rapunzel pulled Jamie and Sophie closer to her as Pitch took a step closer to Jack. "And now no one can find you. Dream Pirates, take them below! We have a cave to reach and a ceremony to prepare for!" Several Dream Pirates pushed the four below deck and locked them up in a tiny dungeon. As soon as the Dream Pirates left, Jack sat down in a corner and let out a sigh.

"Jack, it really isn't your fault," stated Jamie.

"But he's right, I knew that's why he was out looking for children tonight and why we had to take every precaution to protect the children tonight. I . . . I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want to worry you or frighten you."

"Well, it worked, we weren't worried or frightened . . ." began Jamie.

"Until now. Jack I'm scared," stated Rapunzel.

"Me too," said Sophie as she snuggled closer to her sister.

"Yeah, even I am," Jamie admitted.

"Jack, what's he going to do to us?" asked Rapunzel.

"I, I don't know, but I do know that if we have some fun, it'll make it harder for Pitch's plan to go the way he wants it."

"But how can we have fun in this tiny dungeon?" asked Sophie as the three glanced around the tiny quarters.

Jack merely grinned, "You'll see." He soon got them playing hopscotch, tic-tac-toe, hangman, and even got them to draw in the frost he created on the walls. But the fun was over far too soon when several Dream Pirates dragged them out of the dungeon and herded them back up to the deck. The ship was now banked on the shore inside of a cold, dark cave, causing the children to huddle even closer together, staying near Jack more for protection rather than warmth. The pirates pushed them towards a plank, near where Pitch stood, apparently gloating in his victory.

"So, which of you will join me, or all of you?"

"No!" screamed Rapunzel as she pulled her siblings closer.

"Leave them along, Pitch! Take me instead!" Pitch glanced at Jack as a pirate handed Pitch Jack's staff.

"Really?" He broke the staff in half, causing Jack to double over in pain.

"Jack!" the children cried out as they rushed to his side, Pitch tossing the pieces of the staff over the side.

"I don't know if that will work, per say. But shall we try?" He lifted Jack up with some shadows and tossed him over the ship.

"No!" Rapunzel dashed over the plank, only to see him fade into the sea. Or what she thought was the sea, at a second glance, she soon realised there were horse forms down there, writhing and tumbling over each other.

"You like my nightmares, dear? It's a special technique I'm still trying to perfect, but at least I have enough for my purposes at the moment." Rapunzel glanced down into the inky blackness below her and shuddered. Nightmare after nightmare raised its head to watch her like a predator watching its prey. She turned around on the plank to glance at Pitch Black, a cruel grin plastered on his face while two of his Dream Pirates restrained Jamie and Sophie.

"If, if I jump, will you let them go home?" asked Rapunzel shakily.

Pitch nodded, "Yes, I shall."

"How can I trust you?"

"That's just the thing, now isn't it? You can't." Rapunzel gulped at his reply before turning and looking back at the swarm below. Muffled screams from Jamie and Sophie made her turn back with a tear in her eye.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to protect you. Tell Mom and Dad I love them." Jamie shook his head and tried to speak through the Dream Pirate's hand. Rapunzel merely took a shaky breath, and jumped.

"No!" screamed several voices. A sleigh flew in, and the Guardians lept onto the boat. Santa quickly took care of the two pirates holding Jamie and Sophie.

"Get to the sleigh!"

"But Rapunzel!"

"We will save her, you get to sleigh, now!" Jamie nodded, and putting complete faith in Santa and the others saving his sister, grabbed Sophie's trembling hand and dragged her to the sleigh.

"Jamie, how, how are they going to save Rapunzel?" asked Sophie through her tears.

"I,I don't know, we just have to believe that they will." Jamie pulled his sister close while the battle raged on around them, the Sandman keeping most of the pirates away from the sleigh with help from the Tooth Fairy, while Santa and the Easter Bunny worked their way towards Pitch and the plank. A loud whoop made the battle pause as everyone looked for the speaker, but he soon revealed himself as an icy breeze obliterated several of the nightmares and pirates.

"Jack!" yelled Jamie and Sophie, as the blue-clad figure flew from underneath the plank. A figure in pink was in his arms.

"He saved Rapunzel!" squealed Sophie as Jack flew towards the sleigh. A swarm of nightmares rose up to stop him, furious at being refused their prey.

"Jack, look out!" each person shouted out. Jack caught the hint and flew Rapunzel up to a crow's nest. He set her down and took on the nightmares.

"Stop!" The nightmares and the pirates backed down as Pitch flew up to where Jack and Rapunzel stood. "You and I are going to finish this, Frost!"

"Sounds fine by me!" shouted Jack as he flew to meet the Nightmare King. Black shadows and white ice battled it out furiously as everyone else could only watch mesmerized. Jack apparently could easily hold his own against Pitch, every attack thwarted and sent back in kind. They weren't sure how long the battle actually lasted, they were so mesmerized by how the sparkling ice tore through the shadows and the inky shadows splintered the ice. But then Jack got the upper hand, and sent Pitch sprawling on the ship's deck. Jack returned to the crow's nest to check on Rapunzel pretty quick before landing on the deck to face Pitch. "Give it up, Pitch, you've clearly lost."

Pitch glanced at something to the side before grinning, "Have I?" With a hiss, several Dream Pirates swarmed over Pitch, taking him with them over the side, each one landing on a nightmare that took them away from the ship. But Pitch turned and shouted, "This isn't over yet, Frost! I will be back, and I will have my darkling princess!"

"And I'll be here, Pitch, protecting them all from you!" Jack glared at Pitch until he and his minions left the cave. He turned to Rapunzel and flew her down to the sleigh. "Um, thanks guys, and . . . I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? Is that it? You put these kids' lives in danger, and you think sorry is gonna cut it?" growled Bunny.

"No! It was my fault, I begged him to let us meet you. I didn't want Rapunzel to stop believing in you. She, she's the one who helped me believe in you, and I couldn't stand knowing that she was going to stop believing," explained Jamie.

Rapunzel hugged her brother, "Oh, Jamie, I'm sorry if I worried you. I promise that I will never stop believing."

"What good will that do? A lot of people have promised, and they broke those promises."

"Bunny!" Tooth berated him.

"A Bennett never breaks a promise, especially one that's been made to family," Sophie stated matter-of-factly.

"Good, keep that promise, and you will stay off Naughty list. But first, I think we need to get you home. How about a ride in the sleigh?"

"Really? Yes!" Jamie jumped up, throwing both arms in the air.

"This is going to be fun!" grinned Sophie.

Rapunzel chuckled, "Alright, let's hurry up, I want to get back to bed."

"Of course you do, you've had one exciting night. Anybody else coming?"

"Yup," blurted Jack as he jumped into the sleigh beside Rapunzel.

"We'd like to, but Sandy and I have to get back to work."

"And I've got to get back to preparing for Easter, it's early this year." He glanced at Jack, "And there'd better be no blizzard this year, either."

"What? Oh, fine, I'll keep my interference down to a minimum."

"How about none at all?"

"Bunny, perhaps another time? We have to get these kids to bed."

"Fine, get going."

"Thank you. See you later. Hiya!" The reindeer took off, the sleigh leaving the cave fairly quickly. Santa pulled out a snowglobe and spoke to it, "I say, Bennett house." He threw it into the sky, where it burst open into a swirling portal. The sleigh went through, and landed gently on the Bennett house.

"Wait, how are we going to get past Aunt Aurora to our room?" asked Jamie.

"Don't worry about that, I've got this." Jack picked up Sophie and flew her down to the room. She fell asleep the instant her head touched the pillow. Jack went back for Jamie, who didn't fall asleep until he spoke to Jack.

"Thanks, Jack, for everything."

Jack ruffled his hair, "No problem." He flew back out one more time, to get Rapunzel. When she got into the room, she made sure Sophie and Jamie were both tucked in like their mother would. She turned back to the window to see Jack standing on the sill and the sleigh going through another portal.

"Thank you Jack, for everything."

"No problem, though I am sorry for putting your lives in danger when I knew Pitch was on the roam."

"Hey, you still helped save us, and we did have fun."

"Well, there is still that." He bent forward and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight, Punz." She pulled back in surprise.

"Punz?"

Jack shrugged, "Hey, it sounds like good nickname. Or would you rather Ray?"

Rapunzel giggled, "Punz it is." She surprised him by pulling him in for a kiss.

"What? Punz, I can't . . ."

"Thank you, for saving my life."

"You're welcome." They kissed again, Jack pulling back more slowly this time.

"OK, that's enough, I can't, we're going to have to stay as friends."

"Jack?"

"I'm a Guardian Punz, I'm immortal, you're not. You're going to grow up, get married, and have kids of your own, and . . ."

"And I'll die," Rapunzel whispered.

Jack nodded as he sighed, "Yes." Rapunzel reached up and touched his face.

"It must be hard to . . ."

"Yeah, it is, but, at least I have the other Guardians to keep me company."

"Mm-hmm, but they must get boring to hang around with, don't they?" She pulled him in for yet another kiss.

"Punz, I . . ."

"I know, I won't get another chance." With a shaky breath, he let her kiss him a couple more times before needing to pull away.

"I have to go, your parents will be back soon, and Pitch is still out there." Rapunzel nodded. They kissed one more time before Jack flew away after waving goodbye, Rapunzel locking up the window before climbing into bed. And just like a Bennett, she kept her word, all three of them did, for they remembered and continued to believe long after their friends had stopped believing,and long into their old age. They told their children and grandchildren about the Guardians, sparking belief in a whole new generation. But they never forgot that night, nor a first kiss.


	10. Jackson Overland & the Olympians (PJO)

"What's the matter Overland? Worried about your pretty girlfriend?" taunted Pitch before tossing a wave of shadows at Jack.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Jack shouted as he blocked the attack with a wave of snow.

Pitch laughed cruelly, "Are you sure? You're awfully concerned for her wellbeing."

"I'm concerned for the wellbeing of all my friends, and the camp! You . . . are not . . . going to . . . destroy it!" exclaimed Jack as he blocked Pitch's attacks before sending attacks in kind.

"I won't have to, once the Titans are released, they'll take care of it for me!"

"No!" Jack yelled as he attacked with more ferocity, alternating between ice and sword. But Pitch was more than capable of holding his own against the furious demigod. They went at it hard and fast, alternating between attack, block, and parry. A malicious grin grew on Pitch's face, sure, Jack was filled with fiery determination to protect Camp Guardian, but he was tiring, and fast. It wouldn't be long before the teen would succumb to exhaustion. It didn't take long for Pitch to gain the upper hand, and sent Jack sprawling across the floor.

"Give it up, Overland! You'll never be able to defeat me. I'd rather not have to kill you, you're a fine demigod. There's so much we could do together, you'd make a great second-in-command. After all, what goes better together than cold and dark."

"How about light and ice?" asked a voice as a stream of sunlight smashed into Pitch.

Jack gasped as he saw the speaker, "Rapunzel! What are you doing here? Get out!"

"And leave our leader? Not a chance," muttered Flynn as he stepped out of the shadows next to her. Catrina, Katherine, Nicholas, and Emily Jane soon joined them.

"Camp Guardian is our home too, Jack, it's our duty to protect it just as it is yours," smiled Catrina. She turned a glare on Pitch, "And we won't leave Jack to be destroyed by you."

"Obviously," muttered Pitch as he shot her a knowing look. Jack's friends rushed to his side as Pitch rose. "So, I guess I shall just have to destroy all of you."

"Well, with all of us, that's going to be kinda hard, don't you think?" quipped Nicholas.

Pitch laughs, "You'd like to think so, don't you?" He glances at Catrina, whose face hardens, "But it's not as hard as you'd think. Isn't that right my dear?"

Jack glances at Catrina with worry, "Catrina, what's he talking about?"

Catrina lets out a shaky breath, "He's tried to turn me against you, to get me to join him while we were separated." She glanced at their surprised faces, "But you're my friends, my family, I'd take all the pain if I could to keep you safe." She looked pointedly at Jack, "You of all people should understand that." Jack nodded as he rose, leaning on Flynn.

"She's right, we're not going to let some power-hungry freak destroy our home and our friends, our family, for no good reason."

Pitched scoffed, "No good reason? Apparently demigods like you stand in my way of total control of the world, and the only way to get you out of my way is to destroy you for good."

"But why do you want control of the world?" blurted Katherine.

"Isn't it obvious? It's the usual bad guy cliche," muttered Flynn. Jack smirked.

Pitch's eye seemed to twitch, "What? It's not that, I want to take over the world and spread fear to every corner. The more fear there is, the stronger I am. It's basically a fight for my survival."

"Seriously? Do you really need to destroy the camp for that?" asked Flynn.

Pitch facepalmed, "I just explained it to you, you'd be fighting me at every chance you had to try and stop me, so I have to destroy you. What grade did you finish, the fourth?"

"Actually, we're in tenth grade, but that's besides the point. Thank you so much for explaining everything to us. Shall we finish this?"

"Yes!" chorused the demigods.

Jack nodded, "Alright then, demigods, let's do this!"

"Right!" The group charged, and met Pitch's shadowy onslaught head on, Emily sending bolts of lightning through it while Rapunzel manipulated light into arrows, Nicholas, Katherine, and Flynn stuck to their weapons, Jack helped with some snow, and Catrina did her best by snatching control of the shadows from Pitch and helped to clear a way for her friends. They continued to press forward, gaining ground inch by inch. Nicholas had been right, fighting all of them at once had proven to be a bit much for Pitch, no matter how hard he tried. In a matter of minutes, the teens had managed to surround him, though Rapunzel and Flynn stayed close to Jack.

"Give it up, Pitch, we're obviously stronger than you thought we were," stated Jack.

"So it would seem, for now, at least," stated Pitch as he stood up a little straighter. "However, that's a question that will have to wait for another time." A rope uncurled by Pitch's side, which he quickly snatched up and held on tight as he was picked up from the ground. The group gasped as he was lifted up to a flying galleon. "Until next time, demigods!"

"No, we can't let him get away!" shouted Jack. Rapunzel immediately readied another arrow and aimed. "Nicholas, can you make a ship that . . ." began Jack, but he lost consciousness and collapsed, Flynn catching him.

"Rapunzel!" Flynn called out. Rapunzel quickly unleashed the arrow so she could rush over to tend to Jack, unaware that she hit the boat right as it shadow-travelled, sending it off course.

"Nicholas! I need a stretcher or something, we need to get him to camp!" ordered Rapunzel after several attempts to revive him. The group worked quickly, and carried Jack back to Camp Guardian on a quickly put-together stretcher. Over the next week, Rapunzel and her half-sibling Wapasha tended to Jack, with help from the rest of the group and Jack's half-siblings. When Jack finally woke, the whole camp seemed to finally be able to breathe with relief. But Rapunzel shooed away all potential visitors so her patient could get some much needed rest.

"You should get some rest, Punz," muttered Jack as he watched her take away his plate.

She laughed, "Oh don't worry about it, I'm fine. I got some rest last night while Wapasha took over for a bit. Your half-siblings and the rest of the team have also been helping by taking turns staying at your side."

"No, Punz, really, go relax."

"I am relaxing, you're finally out of the worst of it." She sat on his bed, "You had us worried there for a while."

Jack turned his head, "Sorry."

"No need to apologize, we're just glad we've got you back," replied Rapunzel. She bit her lip as she patted his shoulder before turning to leave. But Jack grabbed her hand, causing her to swing her head around to look at him.

"Punz, um, can I, uh, can I ask you a question?"

"Uh, OK."

"Would you, uh, would you . . . oh by the gods! Would you go out with me on a date?" he finally blurted. Rapunzel stared at him for a while before she found her voice.

"Wh-what? Why . . ."

"Listen, I, I wanted to ask you earlier, but Flynn was obviously flirting with you, and then we had the quest and all, and then . . ." Jack paused for a bit before sighing, "And then I was scared. I had never even thought of asking a girl before, that had always been Flynn's thing, until I met you. You . . . I, um . . . I would like to get to know you better, Punz, if, if that's alright with you. So, uh, would you go out with me?"

"I do!"

"What? I'm not asking you to marry me!"

Rapunzel laughed, "No, Brain Freeze, I do want to get to know you better, so yes, I do want to go out on a date with you."

"Really?" Rapunzel nodded, grinning. "Yes!" He pulled her in, only to have her push herself off. "What?"

Rapunzel shook her head, "Not until after our tenth date."

"What? Oh come on! Please, just one little peck?"

"Not a chance, mister, that's part of the deal, take it or leave it."

"Oh fine, no kissing until our tenth date."

"Good." Rapunzel did lean forward, and kissed his forehead.

"Wait, how come that doesn't count as kissing?"

Rapunzel snickered, "Good night, Brain Freeze, you'll have plenty of time tomorrow to plan our first date."

Jack sighed then grinned back, "Alrighty, Sunshine, but you'd better be ready, because it'll knock your socks off."

"Oh really? Then I'd best not wear any socks, I don't want to lose anymore."

Jack snorted, "Then you might want to do something about your brain too, it might blow your mind."

"What? Come on, you're the Brain Freeze, remember? Of the two of us, your mind will be blown."

"Oh, but it already has, time for me to return the favor." Jack eyed her mischievously, His grin grew wider when a slight red came into her cheeks.

"Jack! Oh, just go to sleep, you dumb snowflake."

"Whatever you say, Princess," smirked Jack as he rolled over and closed his eyes. He felt a presence at his side and another kiss, this time on his cheek.

"I'm really glad you're alright," she whispered. Thoughts of Pitch rushed into Jack's mind, but he quickly pushed them away, now wasn't the time to ponder on such things, it was interrupting a good moment.

"Yeah, me too." She pecked his cheek again before leaving him alone to sleep, a sleep he was happy to find that wasn't tormented by Pitch. But they were going to be ready the next time Pitch returned, and next time, they were going to defeat him, once and for all.


	11. Nightlight Chronicles (TsubasaChronicle)

The teen opened the door and walked into the tiny home, taking off his blue cloak as he did so. He placed the cloak on the sofa before going to the mantle and picked up a picture of himself as a boy with an elderly man, both smiling warmly.

"I'm home, Dad," he smiled at the picture before placing it back on the mantle. He moved to head into the kitchen when a knock at the door made him pause. He moved to open the door, a question on his face. "Yes?" he asked when he opened it.

"Jack!" called out a female voice as she lunged at him, knocking him to the floor. "You're back!"

"Yes, I'm back, Princess, but . . ."

"Rapunzel," she stated firmly.

"What?"

"Say it, say my name, stop saying Princess!"

"OK, OK, sorry, Pri-Rapunzel. There, happy?"

Rapunzel smiled, "Much better."

"Good, can you get off of me now?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened and a slight blush came to her cheeks as she quickly got off, "Oh, I'm sorry! I hope I wasn't too heavy."

"Why? Were you eating pastries again?" Jack eyed her mischievously.

"Jack! So I had one or two, what's wrong with having a pastry every now and then?"

Jack shrugged as he rose, "For me, nothing, pastries taste great. Your parents on the other hand . . ."

"You won't tell them?" she glanced at him pleadingly.

Jack held out his hand to help her up, "When do I really see them, unless it's for developments about the ruins or you've invited me to the castle?"

Rapunzel laughed as she took his hand and stood up, "That's true. But really, I'm glad you're back."

Jack smiled crookedly, "Yeah, me too, but I only came back to get some more supplies. I think we've just about gotten everything unearthed. All that's left is to decode those symbols."

"Jack, that's wonderful! Soon you won't have to spend so much time at the ruins!"

"Exactly, but in order to do that, I have to get back there soon."

"Oh, right. Um, can I go with you?"

"Of course! Let me get a sack and some coins first, then we'll head out." A few minutes later, Jack and Rapunzel were chatting away as they meandered through the city, Rapunzel with a hood hiding her face from the sight of most passer-bys. But it came off the instant she began running towards a vendor.

"Fresh fruit! Ooh, strawberries!" she squealed.

"What is it with you and sweet stuff?" Jack teased.

Rapunzel scoffed, "What is it with you and teasing?"

"Only because you've spoiled me, you make it way too easy, and too much fun, to tease you," Jack grinned mischievously at her.

Rapunzel grinned back coyly, "I guess I do, don't I?"

Jack laughed as he turned to the vendor, "May I have some harder fruit for the road, and some strawberries for the lady?"

"Of course!" the woman exclaimed as she set about bagging some apples, pears, and peaches for Jack, and got together a smaller bag of strawberries for Rapunzel. Jack fished out a few coins from his pocket, but the woman stopped him. "Oh, no need, it's free, for the princess."

"The princess? The princess is here?" muttered several voices as they crowded around the couple. Several asked Rapunzel how she was doing, while Jack took the opportunity to slip a few coins onto the vendor's table. He really didn't feel right simply taking free food, even if it was on account of the princess. He placed the bigger bag of fruit into the sack he had brought, while Rapunzel was still holding the bag of strawberries.

"Is that the princess? Princess Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel gasped, "Jack, guards!"

Jack grabbed her hand, "Hang on!" He led the way through the city, the two dashing around corners and tight places to keep out of sight of the guards. After some major running around, they finally made it outside the city limits, where they basically collapsed on the green grass. "Ah, finally made it." He glanced over at her, the wind catching her brown hair and playing with it, her eyes closed as she breathed in the scent of the grass, a soft smile on her lips. His eyebrows went up when she burst out laughing. "What's so funny?"

"You! The way you outmaneuvered those guards, you could have been a thief if you wanted to!" Jack grinned, he had learned all that while he had been out in the streets, before North took him in and loved him like a son.

"If I wanted to, but a thief's life isn't for me, I mean, what's the point of it?" He glanced at her, "What exactly would I steal from Corona anyway, your crown?" A strange look came into her eyes as she rolled over, their foreheads nearly touching, their hands not once separating the entire time.

"But you are a thief."

"What? What did I steal?"

Rapunzel smiled as she leaned in, whispering, "Jack, I lo . . ." The two yelped and jumped as the bong of the clock tower resounded over the city walls. Rapunzel's eyes widened as she listened. "What? It's already five? I need to get back to the castle!" She quickly got up, releasing Jack's hand, and dashed back towards the city.

"Wait, Rapunzel! What . . ."

She paused, "Are you going to my birthday party tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah, I wouldn't miss that for the world."

She turned around, a bright smile on her face, "What I was going to tell you, I'll tell you tomorrow, alright?"

"Um, alright."

"Good, don't be late!" She waved to him before continuing on towards the city. Jack stood there for a few minutes after she had left, a soft smile playing at his lips. And it was there that the mirror paused, a figure cloaked in black moved away from it to sit down in a throne-like chair. The hood was thrown back as a pair of twins stepped up to flank the chair.

"It's almost time, my flower will come to me, soon." Gothel cracked a smile before turning to the twins. "Are the ruins ready?"

The twin on her right nodded, "Ready."

Gothel nodded as she turned back to the mirror, "Good. I'd like to see that dumb wizard try to stop me this time. Be ready to go, and make sure it happens without a problem."

The two bowed, "As you wish, my lady." They turned and walked away, leaving Gothel alone.

"Yes, Manny, let's see you try and stop me, this time."


	12. Nightlights

If you'll be my sunshine,

I'll be your nightlight

There's nothing to be scared of

I'll chase your fears out of sight

The first step is always the hardest

But once you're out of that tower

Come on a journey with me

And see the world in flower

The sun is shining a bright smile

The wind is calling you to see

All the wonder the world has to offer

Just take that step and come with me

If you'll be my sunshine,

I'll be your nightlight

There's nothing to be scared of

I'll chase your fears out of sight

You see? That wasn't hard

Now come on, take my hand

We're going to have so much fun!

I'll show you the beauty of the land

I hate it when you're so lonely and sad

I'd do anything to make your green eyes shine

To hear you laugh and sing with joy

Now I've begun to wish you were mine

If you'll be my sunshine,

I'll be your nightlight

There's nothing to be scared of

I'll chase your fears out of sight

Look at this, don't you see?

Look at all this wonder you've been missing!

I really want to know you've been having fun

Though I do hope for a bit of kissing

For you see, I love you so

And I will never let you down

But I do want you to have some fun

While we go exploring the town

If you'll be my sunshine,

I'll be your nightlight

There's nothing to be scared of

I'll chase your fears out of sight


	13. Sunshine (Stardust)

"Jack! Look out!" Jack ducked as a sword sliced the air where his head had been. He turned and faced his foe, the reanimated Black.

"Kill him," ordered Gothel.

"NO!" screamed Rapunzel as she strugggled against the chains. Black charged Jack, but he had learned enough from Flynn to fence well. The blades sang out as they met again and again, Jack keeping up quite well with Black's expertise. The only problem was, Black couldn't get tired any more, and Jack could. The only way to really stop Black was to get the doll from the witch, and Jack had to get away from Black to do that! Jack had to think quickly, while battling a reanimated body. It wasn't exactly an easy task. Jack kicked Black's body, sending it tumbling, for a bit, before it got back up and walked towards Jack. Jack used the moment to glance around the room, trying to find something, anything, to keep Black's body down long enough. His eyes chanced on the chandelier hanging just above Black's head as the body sauntered forward. Jack took a quick glance at the wall, there were two ropes. Jack quickly cut through one, and a different chandelier fell. Jack grabbed hold of the other rope as he cut it, the momentum of the falling chandelier swinging him towards Rapunzel.

"I'll get you out of here real quick . . ."

"Jack, look out!" Jack turned and raised his sword, its metal ringing with the impact of the blade of the witch. The two began their own deadly dance with the blades, twirling faster and faster, until the witch gained the upper hand and sent Jack's weapon scattering to the ground. Jack went for the blade, the witch darting after him.

"Jack!" shrieked Rapunzel as Gothel lunged at him, the knife closing in. The witch fell over, just about landing on top of Jack. "Jack!" Rapunzel called out when the witch didn't move. Jack rolled her off of him, his blade imbedded in her chest. He grabbed the witch's knife and set about freeing Rapunzel. "Oh Jack, you're alright! I thought you were done for!" exclaimed Rapunzel as she pulled him in for a kiss.

Jack smiled, "What? You thought you could get rid of me that easily?"

"No joking, Jack, I thought you had left me for that other girl, but you came back."

"Of course I did, I love you. I only went to her to keep a promise I had made, which was to bring back a piece of the sun for her. I also went to inform her that I wasn't interested in marrying her anymore, because I had found you. But I wasn't going to tell her that part."

Rapunzel laughed, "Oh Jack, I love you."

"I love you more."

"Jack, Rapunzel, look out!" Jack glanced at his mother before turning to glance at the slowly rising body of the witch.

"Jack!" gasped Rapunzel.

Gothel cackled, "You thought I was dead, huh? But I should thank you, boy, a drop of the sun is no good to me if her heart is broken. And now I shall have immortality!"

"Jack, hold me close and close your eyes."

"Why?"

"What does the sun do best? Shine!"

Jack understood her meaning, "Mom, close your eyes!" He held onto Rapunzel, and his mother ducked behind a pillar as Rapunzel's hair became light and grew brighter with every second.

"What? What's going on? Stop it! No!" screamed Gothel. When Jack and his mother opened their eyes, the light was gone, and so was Gothel.

"How, how did you do that?"

"I couldn't have done without you, Jack."

"What?"

"If my heart was broken, I would have no power. Now, can we get out of here?"

"Of course, sunshine, I'm sure my mom wants out too." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before the two walked towards his mother. Jack paused and bent down to pick up a stone, the one Rapunzel had been wearing, before joining the women. He glanced down, and stared in shock. It had been clear, but now it was turning purple.

"Jack?"

Jack's mother smiled, "The last surviving male heir of Corona, you are the new king, Jack."

"What? How?"

"Your father did tell you that I was a princess, right?"

"Oh, right, but that means that . . ."

"Black was your uncle."

"Wow, so, I'm the new king?"

"Yes, and I think you are a much better option than any of my brothers, really."

Jack chuckled nervously, "Oh, thanks mom."

"Come on, we should get to the castle, the people need to know who their new ruler is."

"Right." They left for the castle, reaching it by nightfall. Jack was reluctant to rule at first, but with some gentle coaxing by his mother and Rapunzel, he agreed. He and Rapunzel were soon married and crowned the king and queen of Corona. They ruled together for many, happy years, their happily ever after well earned.


	14. Jolly Holiday (Mary Poppins)

Jamie and Sophie gasped, they were in the drawing now! There were rolling green hills dotted with the attractions of a summer fair, colorful flowers, booths, and a circus.

"Our clothes changed!" blurted Jamie. He was right, instead of their regular clothes, they were dressed in fine, outing wear. Rapunzel was wearing a pink, lacy dress with purple accents, lace gloves, flowers in her hair, and a pale pink umbrella in her hand. Jack was dashing in a white suit complete with a blue tie, grey vest, white gloves, and a walking cane. Jamie wore something similar to Jack, though it was more soft green and beige, while Sophie had a yellow and mint green variation of Rapunzel's dress.

"Well yeah, you can't exactly go to the fair dressed like you're going to a funeral," blurted Jack. He grinned at Rapunzel, "Though, I must admit, Rapunzel Corona, you are absolutely beautiful."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Rapunzel giggled, "Thank you Jack, you look quite dashing yourself."

Jamie began to snicker, "Are you two flirting?"

"Don't you two have a fair to go to, one that's just over that hill?" pointed Jack.

"Oh, yeah, come on Sophie! I can hear the merry-go-round!

"Merry-go-round!" exclaimed Sophie as she followed her brother towards the carousel.

Jack turned to Rapunzel and gave her a bow, "Shall we be off for a walk, my lady?"

Rapunzel tucked her hand into his arm, "With pleasure." They walked off down a dirt path opposite of the path the children took.

"You know, I'm so happy I think I could sing."

"Well, what's stopping you?" grinned Rapunzel.

"All I can think of is Christmas songs."

Rapunzel laughed, "Oh Jack, you're always thinking about winter!"

"And why not, it's my favorite season!" he grinned. 'I mean, Spring and Summer aren't bad, I just prefer those chilly days of Autumn and Winter."

"Ah, yes, getting all cozy by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate."

"Cuddling up with someone you love," he smirked as he pulled her closer.

She eyed him, "Are you suggesting something, Mr. Overland?"

"Oh, I don't know, every day with you is like a jolly holiday?"

"What?"

"It doesn't matter if leaves are falling to the ground; Or if the flowers are blooming in May; Whenever I spend a day with you, Rapunzel; It feels like another jolly holiday!"

Rapunzel laughed and thought for a moment before replying with, "The wind blows the leaves about; And the sky's a blinding blue; I like being with you, Jack; It is a jolly holiday with you!"

"Aw, you like me too." Jack leaned in and kissed her.

Rapunzel giggled, "Jack, it's kind of hard not to like you. You're a lot of fun."

"Why thanks, Punz, and it's hard to not like you because the sun shines wherever you go."

"Jack!"

"But it's true! You light up a room the instant you walk in!"

Rapunzel glanced away, a blush coming to her cheeks, "You, you think so?"

Jack laughed, "Think so? I know so!" He leaned in, "Because I can tell the sun is shining ever brighter when you enter a room."

Rapunzel giggled, "Oh, you silly thing. Come on, we should check on the children."

"OK let's go." The two walked down the path, circling around to a merry-go-round.

"Jack, Rapunzel, you want to ride the merry-go-round with us?" asked Jamie when the children noticed them.

"Sure, why not!" Jack and Rapunzel joined the children on the merry-go-round. They went for a few rounds before the horses leapt off the merry-go-round and took them on a ride through the countryside.

"Whoa, this is cool!"

"Did you wish we could actually ride them?" asked Jack.

Jamie grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, sorry."

"No, it's alright, just took us by surprise is all. Next time, let us know in advance, alright?"

"Alright!" The group rode over a dirt path for a ways when they came across a hunting party.

"Excuse me, sirs, what are you hunting?" Rapunzel asked sweetly.

"Oooh, bunny!" pointed Sophie. An adorable little rabbit popped out from behind the bushes.

"That there rabbit!" exclaimed one of the hunters before putting a horn to his lips and blowing it. The dogs bayed and the horses neighed as they chased after the rabbit.

"Oh the poor bunny, I'm going to help him out."

"Wait Jack!" But Jack was already off, his blue merry-go-round horse easily passing up the other horses. Rapunzel sighed, "Oh fine, come on children, let's follow." The three caught up fairly quickly, Jack having saved the rabbit, but got caught in a horse race. "Jack, are you alright?" asked Rapunzel as her horse came up next to his.

"So far so good. Are you up for a race?" he grinned back.

"Me, me!" shouted the children.

Rapunzel eyed him, "Jack."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! Hiya!" Jack urged his horse forward. Rapunzel sighed as she and the children followed him yet again, though, Rapunzel quickly took the lead and won the race. "See, told you it would be fun," Jack smirked as she posed for the cameras.

"Rapunzel, look this way!"

"Rapunzel, how does it feel winning first place?" asked one reporter

"Rather exciting."

"And a lot of fun!" piped up Jack from his perch on the fence. He and the children were busy munching away on some cotton candy.

Rapunzel shot him a look, "Yes, a bit of fun."

"Any words of wisdom for our younger readers, Rapunzel? " asked another reporter.

Rapunzel thought for a minute before replying with, "Don't give up on your dreams, keep working hard, help others whenever you can, and . . ."

"Remember to have some fun now and then," quipped Jack as he offered her some cotton candy. Rapunzel smirked as she took a bite.

"Yes, have some fun every now and then so you're not overstressed with work. You still have to work though."

"I know, but no wiser words were ever said."

"What he said," commented a reporter. Everyone jumped and a few yelped when a flash of lightning blazed through the sky, followed by the loud crash of thunder. Several more flashes and booms ran through the sky before the clouds burst open and a torrent of rain showered them.

"Jamie, Sophie!" The children rushed towards Jack and Rapunzel as she opened her umbrella. Everyone else began taking off, soon leaving the four where they stood.

"Oh no, the drawing!" gasped Sophie.

"And we worked so hard on it!" moaned Jamie as the four looked at the chalk running across the sidewalk with the rain.

Jack shrugged as he pulled up his hood, "It's alright, Jamie, that's the whole fun of it, we get to make another one! A bigger and better one!"

"Alright! Can we come back and draw another one, Rapunzel?"

"Yes, but in order to do that, we need to go home. Will you be alright, Jack?"

"Oh yeah, don't worry about me, if I run fast enough, the rain won't touch me!"

"Really?" asked Jamie and Sophie.

Rapunzel sighed, "I highly doubt it, but I need to get you two home before you catch a cold! Are you sure you'll be alright, Jack?"

Jack gave her a quick peck on the cheek, "I'll be fine, I'm more used to the cold than you guys are anyway. Better get going before we're all drenched! See you tomorrow!" He waved before dashing off through the rain.

"See you tomorrow!" the other three chorused before they walked off briskly in the other direction, eager to get out of the rain.


	15. Befriending a Wolf

Rapunzel watched him slunk through the hallway, keeping to himself and practically avoiding the crowd. She thought it weird that he would avoid most people, he seemed like a fun-loving fellow, and always cheerful. He always had a good morning and a smile for everyone he met. But the cliques everyone wanted to be a part of, the cliques that practically ran the halls, looked down on him. Being new, Rapunzel didn't exactly know what had happened between them, but she could tell that since the cliques didn't like him, no one else dared get caught being with him, and ignored him for the most part.

One day at a lunch, Rapunzel decided to take a chance, and sat with him.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a hint of concern evident in his voice and eyes.

"I'm sitting here, is there a problem with that?"

"If you want to join the school royalty, yeah, it is."

"And if I don't want to join the school royalty?"

He smirked, "You're doing a great job of dashing your chances."

"Oh good, I didn't think that was possible."

He chuckled, "Well, it is. But, seriously, why are you sitting here?"

"Well, you look lonely, so, I figured I'd be a great new student and give you some company."

He sighed, "Well, thanks, but, you really should stay away from me, they're worse than wolves when it comes to finding out if anyone hangs out with me."

"Why? What happened?"

"If you don't know now, you'll find out real soon," was all he said before leaving the table and picking up his tray. She watched him pull the hood of his jacket over his head and walk out of the cafeteria. She turned back to finishing her food, but she couldn't shake the sight of sadness in those blue eyes.

As he had predicted, the very next day, Hans and his lackeys approached her in the hall.

"Why were you sitting with Jack Overland yesterday?"

"He looked pretty lonely. Why do you act as if he wasn't there?"

"Because he ruined my relationship with Anna. He spread some lies about me, and she broke it off with me because of that. So, I told everyone to ignore him, in case he ever tried to spread lies again."

"And since you practically run these halls, your word is law?"

"Definitely."

"So why did they believe Jack over you?"

"Uh, because they were horrible lies meant to gain him some attention. He was almost like a wolf, seeking to destroy its prey, he was so vicious in his attacks. It took me a while to build up my rule, again, after all that."

"And Ana is going out with you now?"

"No, I think that ship sailed. However, if you'd like to go out with me, that would be fine. I'm not seeing anyone."

"Why me? I'm the new girl."

"Precisely, if you go out with me for a bit, everyone will notice you! Wouldn't that be great?"

"Well, maybe."

"Maybe?"

"My mother wants me to concentrate on doing well at school so that I can win this scholarship to the Berlin University of Arts, which has always been my dream. I mean, she's fine with me having friends, as long as it doesn't get in the way of school, but we've never really talked about a boyfriend. I guess we both thought that I would just wait until after I've graduated from Berlin University." Rapunzel shrugged.

"Oh, well, that kind of is a problem. Not the going to Berlin University of Arts, I think that's a wonderful dream, but having a boyfriend would mean that you would spend quite a bit of time with me. How about this, I walk you home this afternoon, and we talk to your mom about it?"

"You would?"

"Sure! I mean, you would be worth it."

"That would be great, thanks Hans!" The bell rang, signalling the start of the next class. "I'll meet you after school!" She waved as she rushed off.

"I wouldn't miss it." Hans waved back before turning and walking away, his lackeys congratulating him on just about getting the girl, none of them noticing Jack in the shadows.

Hans walked Rapunzel home and talked with her mother, as he said he would, being so understanding of what Gothel wanted for Rapunzel and offering to work around Rapunzel's schedule. Gothel seemed to agree, but once he left, reminded Rapunzel that he was just like any other boy and really couldn't be trusted, no matter how nice they may seem. With that thought in mind, Rapunzel didn't take the relationship seriously, though she did have a lot of fun spending time with him. But she did notice Jack, and that he was hanging around rather close to the two, watching them somewhat closely. Rapunzel began to wonder if her mother was right about Hans, though she couldn't believe that every boy was untrustworthy. She did tell her mother about Jack, and Gothel herself began to suspect that Rapunzel should end the relationship with Hans soon, though she didn't really trust Jack either.

One day, Rapunzel decided she was going to end the relationship with Hans, but before she could speak with him, Jack pulled her to the side.

"Why are you going out with him?" he hissed.

"I thought it would be fun for a little while. But, I think I should end it, my mother's getting worried, and I have this strange feeling that something is . . . off. I don't know how to explain it."

"Well, your feelings are right, there is something off about Hans. He's only interested in girls for their money. You're nothing more than a joke to him because you don't come with a fat paycheck like Anna did."

"Oh, so, he'll end it soon anyway?"

"Not anytime soon, he wants you to be his backup in case he can't find another girl to date."

"Was that what you told Anna, and that's why she broke up with him?"

"That was part of it, yes."

"What was the other part?"

"He was planning on killing her older sister Elsa so Anna could inherit everything, and he could get more money."

Rapunzel's hand went to her mouth as she gasped, "How horrible!"

Jack nodded, "It was, and Anna loves her sister very much, so it would have been heartbreaking for her to lose her sister."

"And Hans condemned you to solitude for ruining his plans."

Jack shrugged, "It was worth it, really. Anna and Elsa are like sisters to me, I look out for their well-being, and Hans wasn't good for Anna."

"Well, thank you for telling me this, but I was going to break it up with Hans anyway."

"Alright, well, good luck with that. If you need an ear to complain to, well, I'm all ears." Jack grinned and winked.

Rapunzel laughed, "Thanks Jack, I'll be sure to seek you out if I need someone to talk to."

"OK, but remember, I'm quite good at hiding."

Rapunzel smiled, "I will." She went and found Hans, the two ending their relationship on good terms, or, at least, that's what Rapunzel thought. It wasn't until two weeks later that she found out differently. She was walking home, a song in her heart and a smile on her lips, when Hans and the twins cut her off.

"Hey there, Rapunzel, where are you going?" Hans asked nonchalantly.

"I'm, I'm heading home," began Rapunzel, starting to feel frightened.

"Ah, right. Listen, I've done some thinking about our relationship, and, I figured out where I went wrong. I would like to make it up to you, and see if we can't work something out. I really like you, Rapunzel."

"Oh, well, thank you, but, I really should be concentrating on my homework, if I'm going to get that scholarship."

"Why is getting that scholarship so important?"

"Because I've always dreamed of earning my degree with the Berlin University of Arts, and because my mother can't afford it. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

"Oh, I did, but I don't see how that's more important than me," Hans stated as he leaned in. Rapunzel began to back up slowly, she was really freaking out.

"What?"  
"I think you should give up that dream, you'll never make it in. I'm the best thing you'll ever get out of this life."

"You, better than a scholarship to a prestigious college? Give me a break." The four glanced in the direction the voice came from.

"Jack!"

"Now what, Overland?" growled Hans.

"Let her go home, Hans."

"Or you'll do what?"

"Ruin your reputation again? Really Hans, you make it way too easy. I'm the lone wolf, after all, I can sniff out your darkest secrets because I've got nothing better to do."

Hans growled, "We'll see about that once we're through with you. Get him." The twins cracked their knuckles as they approached Jack menacingly.

"No! Leave him alone! I'll, I'll go out with you, Hans, if you call off your friends!"

Hans pulled her close, "You mean you like the snarly wolf? Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson too!" He began to push her towards a secluded spot.

"Let go of me!"

"Leave her alone Hans!"

"Oh, you like her too, huh? Well this shall be quite the revenge." Rapunzel gasped, and fished out a small cylinder from her purse. She pepper sprayed Hans before whacking him with her backpack.

"Ow, ow ow ow!" he yelped as he writhed on the ground in pain.

"I think you two should get your boss out of here before he makes a complete fool of himself," remarked Jack. The twin glanced at each other, helped Hans up, and got him out of the neighborhood. "Well, that's just fine and dandy. I had this whole rescue planned out. I'd swoop in, beat them up, and whisk you away. But no, you just had to pepper spray Hans."

Rapunzel giggled nervously, "Mother always makes sure I leave the house prepared." She then smirked, "Besides, are you sure you could have taken all three on? If I hadn't pepper sprayed them, you might have been peppered all over the sidewalk."

"Hey! I had it all under control."

"Of course you did. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get home."

"Alright, if you'll let me walk you home. Though I don't think you need it. With what you did back there, remind me not to get on your bad side."

Rapunzel snickered, "I'll be sure to remind you from time to time."

"Of course you will." Jack walked her home, and when her mother learned why she was late, she practically fawned over Jack. The two walked to and from school every day, eventually going out to prom together as well. Rapunzel got the scholarship, and Jack waited until she was finished with her studies before asking her to marry him.


	16. Star Gazing

Rapunzel let out a sigh as her mother disappeared into the distance, going out into the wide world to gather a few things. Rapunzel turned her attention to the night sky as the first twinkling star popped up near the full moon.

"I wish I could have a friend." A little squeak caught her attention. She laughed, "Yes, Pascal, you count as a friend, but, I want to see someone else, not just you and Mother." The lizard nodded, as if in understanding. "Come on, let's get a few candles set up and some cleaning done while we wait for the stars to come out." Rapunzel quickly cleaned up by candlelight before blowing out the candles and returning to the window. The stars were popping out, one by one, twinkling against the night sky. Rapunzel had a pad and paint supplies with her, and she began to chart the stars. Her eyes began to widen when she noticed stars falling and landing on her page. "Snowflakes?" she wondered as she touched the spot where a water spot appeared.

"Well, it's not the stars, that's for sure," stated a voice. Rapunzel gave a shriek as a face appeared in her window, and she whacked him with her pad. "Ow! What? Was there a bug on my face or something?"

"Wh-who are you? How did you get up here? Wait, you can fly?" Rapunzel gasped as the boy floated to the floor.

He stared at her, "You, you can see me?" She nodded. "You, you can hear me?"

"Um, yes . . ." He surprised her with a whoop.

"No one's ever seen me before!"

"What?"

"I bring winter. I'm Jack Frost." She blinked with confusion. "Wait, haven't you heard about me?"

"Um, no, I've never heard that name before."

"But, you can see me, right?"

"Uh, yes. Why? Are you saying I shouldn't be able to see you?"

"Not unless you believed in me." He thought for a second, "Do you believe that someone brings the snow?"

"Well, yes, apparently that's you," she remarked as she lowered her pad.

Jack laughed, "Yes, that's true. But, no one's ever been able to see me before."

"Oh, that must have been hard, with no one being able to see you. It must have been very lonely."

"Um, yeah, but, you can see me now! What do you want to do? Want to get out of here?"

"Oh, no! I can't, I have to stay here so I can be safe. But, if you bring winter to the whole world, maybe you could tell me about the things you've seen?"

"With pleasure, but it would be even better to show you. Wait, is that your hair?"

Rapunzel chuckled, "Yes, I think you had better sit down, I'm thinking there's going to be a lot we have to tell." The two sat down in the middle of the room and chatted long into the night, the two just happy to have someone seeing them.


	17. Watching Lanterns

Come with me, and we'll see

The lanterns dance across the night sky

Oh just how happy I will be

So happy that I feel I could fly!

Thank you so so much

For getting me out of the tower

And making this the best day ever

For letting me grow and flower

You've just been so kind

So attentive and sweet

I only wish this day could last forever

And that you could withstand the heat

Come with me, and we'll see

The lanterns dance across the night sky

Oh just how happy I will be

So happy that I feel I could fly!

Your hands are like ice

But you smile like the sun

You always make me laugh

And make sure I have so much fun!

Your blue eyes sparkle in the flickering light

Almost like the lanterns floating above

Every single time you look at me

It makes me wonder if this is love.

Come with me, and we'll see

The lanterns dance across the night sky

Oh how happy I will be

So happy that I feel I could fly!

The lanterns float just above our heads

Filling the night sky with their flickering light

Hundreds of them dancing around

Oh, what a beautiful sight!

Now I've seen the floating lanterns

My dream has come true

But I needn't worry, I have a new dream

And my new dream is to be with you

Come with me, and we'll see

The lanterns dance across the night sky

Oh how happy I will be

So happy that I feel I could fly!


	18. Silent Love

Jack hated it, he hated not being able to talk to her, he hated seeing her so lonely, with no one else for company than that old witch who used Rapunzel's powers to keep herself young, and the only one who could come and go freely. He hated everything, and the fact that he knew he loved her only made it worse. He had seen her for a few years now, but he couldn't find a way to make her believe in him, and he couldn't find a way in which to free her from her imprisonment. He was never able to get too close to the tower, but always close enough that he could watch her work and listen to her songs. He would leave a few gifts for her where he figured she would see them, but it didn't help her see him. Jack would pace in front of the tower, trying to figure out some way for her to see him, to believe in him, to talk to him. But perhaps the biggest thing was that he couldn't find a way to end her imprisonment. He had been through both Mother Goose's and Father Time's libraries, trying to find anything that could free her, but he always came up empty.

One day, Jack flew to the tower, and saw Rapunzel in tears for the first time. The witch wasn't anywhere in sight, but whatever spell the tower was under repelled Jack's approach. He tried several times before becoming frustrated.

"No!" Jack shouted at the tower as he hit it. He pressed his head against the invisible wall. "Why can't I comfort you? Why can't I let you know that everything will be alright? I will find a way to free you, Rapunzel, I swear, no matter what the cost, I will find a way." With that, he took off, determined to search the world twice over, if need be, to find some way, something that would break the spell.

He hadn't gone very far when moonlight began acting weird. The next thing Jack knew, a little man was standing in front of him. "Manny!"

"Hello, Jack, do you wish to free the princess Rapunzel from her spell?"

'Yes! I'll do anything to get her out of there!"

"Anything?"

Jack nodded with determination, "Yes."

"Very well, I have found the way to do so, but the cost may be high."

"I'll do it."

Manny nodded, "Very well, but you must do exactly as I say." Jack nodded. "The only way to break this spell is to hit the tower three times with a crystal spear, but it's guarded heavily by Pitch Black."

"I'll take on him and his whole army to get it if it means Rapunzel can be free."

Manny gave him a sad smile, "You might have to. Now, listen closely, the Nightmares are not the only challenge you will have to face. You will have to face the Lermantoff Serpent as well."

Jack's eyes widened, "What?"

Manny nodded, "Listen, to defeat the Lermantoff Serpent, you're going to need a branch of rowanberries, some dreamsand, and a goose's egg. You're going to have to get it all into his mouth."

"That shouldn't be too hard, that serpent has a mouth the size of a lake!"

Manny's face was grim, "You'd be surprised. Now hurry, tonight's the last night of the full moon, I won't be able to help you much until next month."

"Oh, right." Jack took off, getting a branch of rowanberries and a goose's egg easily enough, but had to look for something to carry the dreamsand in. With some help from a moonbeam, he found a glass jar that he quickly filled up with dreamsand, and was soon on his way to Pitch's lair. He dove right in, and found the lair to be eerily quiet. His senses on high alert, Jack flew through the lair, searching for the spot where the spear was kept. He saw it, just as a large wave of Nightmares rose to greet him. Jack let out a yelp as the wave began to descend on him, but he sent a wave of ice, disintegrating more than half of the Nightmares. He took a step back to catch his breath, but it wasn't long before the Nightmares were attacking him again. Jack flew around the lair, sending streams of ice through wave after wave of Nightmares. He kept trying to get around the horde, but they would swarm him before he could get any closer to passing through.

"OK, I've had enough of this." With a shout, Jack sent another wave of ice, finally getting him the break he needed. He rushed through the parted Nightmares and turned to face them again, but noticed that once he had gotten over the hill, they made no attempt to stop him. He took a breath and looked forward, he knew why, they figured that the Lermantoff serpent would take care of him easily enough. But he had to sit down and take a breather, he had never faced so many Nightmares at once, and was rather worn out after it. He waited a few minutes for his heart to slow down, his breathing to fall back into a steady rhythm, and some kind of strength to return to his limbs. When he thought he had waited long enough, an image of Rapunzel crying flooded his mind, and he rose, determined to get to that spear. He walked down the hill to where a deep, dark river encircled the spot where the spear was encased. He gritted his teeth, the serpent had to be in the water. He thrust his staff into the water, creating a thin layer of ice on the surface.

"Come on, I know you're down there," he muttered when nothing came to the surface. Taking a breath, he rose slowly and began to fly over the water, dashing back to the ground when he heard the ice cracking. The serpent's head broke the surface, and eyed him malevolently. A cruel smile seemed to spread over its serpentine face, as if to say it had been waiting for Jack to show up. "Let's get on with it, then." The serpent opened its mouth wide, and Jack jumped into it, wedging his staff between its teeth. The serpent seemed to scream at the unpleasant feeling in its mouth and began to close its mouth, cracking the staff. But it gave Jack enough time to toss in the branch, the egg, and the jar and get out before it snapped its mouth shut. Jack saw the items were taking effect immediately on the serpent.

"Well that was easy," he smiled before dashing across the ice. It became increasingly darker, causing him to glance up. He yelped as the serpent's head came crashing down on him, sending him below the water. Jack struggled to get out from under the giant head, but the serpent refused to give him any room to maneuver out. Thinking quickly, Jack sent tendrils of ice around the serpent's head, trying to adhere it to one side of the river so he could get out the other side. It was working! Jack dove quickly, and swam around to the other side, shooting up as fast as he could before the serpent could muster up enough strength to go after him. But the serpent had thought quickly also, and slammed Jack into the rock wall with its body, rendering him unconscious for a few minutes.

When Jack opened his eyes, it was dark, so dark that he couldn't see which way to go. He began to panic, was he going up, down? He paused, there was a light just to his left. He turned, and began swimming towards it. In a few moments, he had broken the water's surface, on the side where the spear was. He glanced up at it, it was glowing. He got up, and took it out of the casing. In doing so, seemed to make it glow all the brighter. He flew off, no serpent or even any Nightmares came to stop him. He burst out of Pitch's lair with a whoop, he had done it! He got the spear! Now, onto the tower. He put on a burst of speed, getting to the tower in record time. He hit the tower with the staff three times as Manny said to do, and a burst of light nearly blinded him. When he opened his eyes, there stood Rapunzel, holding a pan and her chameleon peeking out from her shoulder, the tower and everything else in it was gone, even, Jack assumed, the witch.

"What, what just happened? Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Jack Frost, and I just set you free."

"What?"

"Yeah, there was this spell that prevented me from getting in, and you from getting out, so, I found the way to free you." He showed her the spear, "I had to knock this against the tower three times to break it."

"Oh, yeah, thank you, but, what am I going to do now? Where can I go?"

"Well, you want to see the world?"

Rapunzel glanced at him, "Really?"

"Yes, unless you want to meet your real parents first."

"My, my real parents?"

"Yeah, you're princess Rapunzel of Corona! That witch apparently kidnapped you as a baby and had Pitch Black help her put up this spell to keep you here, and to keep everyone out."

"Yes, well, it didn't keep you from getting presents to me. Thank you."

Jack's mouth dropped, "You could see me?"

Rapunzel nodded, "If I told Mother, she would have moved me to a different location. She told me so herself when she told me to tell her whenever I saw someone. And since you couldn't get in, I figured it best not to tell her. Then you began to give me little gifts, and I began to wonder if you were really as bad as Mother said everyone was."

"Well, it was actually that witch you should have stayed away from, she was only using your hair to keep herself young."

Rapunzel glanced at the mound behind her, "Oh, speaking of . . ."

Jack chuckled, "I got this. How short do you want it?"

"What? But if someone cuts my hair . . ."

"Hey, magic hair, magic spear, but if you want, we can test it on a small section."

"Um, OK, how about this much?" She held out a few strands. Jack took them and cut them, the strands now only reaching her knees. Jack let out a whoop when only the hair that was no longer attached to her head turned brown.

"See? Told you it would work!" he grinned and quickly cut through the rest of her hair.

She let out a squeal, "That's a perfect length! Thank you Jack!" She hugged him, but pulled back quickly. "Oh, sorry."

"It's alright, I don't get very many hugs. Besides, you're going to have to hold on tight if you want to get out of here. I fly, remember?" he winked.

She wrapped her arms around him, "This will be fun."

"Oh, you can bet it will be." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek before taking off, eager to show Rapunzel everything she had been missing out on.


	19. On Wings of Love (Cupid & Psyche)

Long ago, Lady Sun sent a drop of its light to the earth as a gift for the Guardians, to be used in their fight against the Boogeyman. But the Guardians didn't know where to look, and could never find it, especially once the guards of a tiny kingdom called Corona found it to save their queen and her child. The queen gave birth to a beautiful, healthy girl with golden hair, and her parents named her Rapunzel. The child grew in loveliness and grace, and when her people found out she could heal anything with her magical, glowing hair, they came to start regarding her almost like a goddess. No matter what she said or did to deter them from practically worshipping her, they continued to revere her. One Guardian noticed the worship and began to grow a little jealous, and concerned.

"What is wrong, Molly?" asked North when she stormed in at the next meeting.

"The people of Corona are practically worshipping their princess as the new Spring Maiden!"

"Aw come on, Molly, everyone else knows you! What's one island kingdom? I'm sure it'll pass," shrugged Jack.

"That's what you think, you can only go to certain parts of the world and haven't been at Corona as often as I have!"

"But really, Molly, this isn't like you!" pointed out Tooth. "What's the real problem?"

"No, seriously! They believe that she's the Spring Maiden instead of me!"

Bunny sighed, "What do you think should happen for the princess?" Molly glanced at everyone before her eyes fell on Jack.

"Oh no, I'm not doing your dirty work."

"Winter is coming soon, it would be easy for her to have an accident."

"Wow, Molly, that's a bit dark, don't you think?" asked Katherine.

"I'd rather not have to kill her, if that's what you're aiming at," stated Jack.

"May I make a suggestion?" Everyone glanced at the figure with dove wings. He was practically a male, dove version of Tooth, even complete with smaller versions of himself.

"What is it, Val?"

"She's a princess, right? What if I make sure she doesn't fall in love with any human? She'd need to marry for the kingdom, right?"

Molly rubbed her chin, "Possibly, give her a cold heart."

"I'll need Jack's help for that."

Jack sighed, "I'm still going to be doing something, aren't I?"

"Well, you're not going to kill her, are you?"

"Nope."

"Then let's do that."

"But still, why is this so important?" asked North.

"Because there can only be one Spring Maiden, and I won't stand being second to . . . her." Molly stormed out. Jack sighed as he glanced at Val.

"So, when do you want to do this?"

Val shrugged, "How about closer to winter so you won't melt?"

Jack chuckled, "Good point. I'll meet you there after Christmas!"

As Jack had said, he met Val in Corona after Christmas. They flew into the princess' room that night, and got their first look at Molly's troublemaker.

"Wow, she's cute!" whispered Jack.

"Are you going to start worshipping her too?"

"No, it's just, I'm starting to have second thoughts about giving her a cold heart."

"Of course you are. Hmm, maybe we can do something else instead."

"Yeah, I guess so . . ." Jack glanced at the princess strangely, he had never felt this way about another person, and they barely knew each other.

Val sighed, "Of course, now you're in love with the princess." Val paused and began to think, "Maybe we can use this! Instead of giving her a cold heart, we'll just say we've put a curse on her and that she can't marry anyone besides the monster in the forest!"

"Th-the m-monster in-in the forest? What are you thinking?" exclaimed Jack.

Val rolled his eyes, "The monster in the forest is you, dummy. We'll take her to your place instead."

"My place? That's no place for a princess!"

"Keep it down! I'll help you turn it into a palace, don't worry! My goodness, stop being such a worry wort! But this way should make you and Molly happy." Val worked quickly with a potion and sprinkled it all over the still sleeping princess. "Alright, let's get things rolling, but let me handle the details, alright?"

"Alright," sighed Jack as they left. Together, they worked quickly to turn Jack's place into a palace, or at least something very near it. They eventually enlisted Sandy's and Tooth's help in getting things for the palace, while Val had one of his cupids keeping an eye on the princess for when the oracle informed them of her "curse".

A couple of months later, Jack's house had been effectively turned into a mansion, and the oracle informed the king and queen of their daughter's "curse". The king and queen were quite upset with the news, as to be expected, but, they sent Rapunzel out into the forest to meet her fate, her future husband. But Val and Sandy were there instead, and, after Sandy put her into a sleep filled with sweet dreams, took her straight to Jack's mansion. She woke up that evening, surprised to find herself in an elegant room, and all decked out in some of her favorite things. There was even a little chameleon for her to keep as a pet.

Jack came to her in the shadows, and after getting a promise from her not to find out who he was until he was ready, they talked to each other every night after dinner. Rapunzel came to trust this "monster", and even began to feel an inkling of what she thought was love. But it was over far too soon, as Molly found out exactly what had happened, and wasn't exactly very pleased with it. She went to the mansion to confront Jack and Val about it, and Rapunzel chanced upon them, learning about everything, even seeing Jack for the first time. She was taken back by how cute he was, but the argument intensified, and Molly noticed her.

"Rapunzel, what are you doing? Get out of here!" Rapunzel shrieked as she ducked, one of Molly's lightning bolts missing her head by inches. "Leave her alone!" yelled Jack as he sent an icy wind at Molly. Molly pushed back with a storm and wrapped Jack up in the clouds.

"I told you to make her heart like ice, not fall in love with her!" The storm around Molly seemed to grow, and kept on growing. Val rushed towards Rapunzel and scooped her up.

"No, wait, Jack!"

"Just get her out of here!" yelled Jack, before Rapunzel lost sight of him.

"No, we need to go back! We have to go back!"

"I will! But I have to get you to safety first!" retorted Val as they flew out of the mansion, the edge of the storm on their heels as it continued to grow. Val flew Rapunzel to a cave. "Keep to the walls, I'll be right back!" He turned to fly back to the mansion, but paused and stared in shock. Molly's storm had turned into a giant hurricane and it was lifting the mansion off the ground. Val quickly pushed Rapunzel further into the cave before the wind picked him up.

"No! Jack! Val!" Rapunzel gave a shriek when a face appeared in the clouds.

"If you want to see them again, you have to complete three tasks. You must get a comb from the Mermaid Queen, a necklace from the Snow Maiden, and a candle from La Muerte."

"A comb from the Mermaid Queen, a necklace from the Snow Maiden, and a candle from L-La Muerte?"

"Yes, bring them to me at the old tower at the edge of your kingdom, only then will you see him again!" With that, the Spring Maiden was gone, with both Jack and Val, and Rapunzel was without an inclination of where to go.

The first thing Rapunzel did was to cry her eyes out, everything happened so fast. She finally got to see that the "monster" she was supposed to marry was none other than the handsome sprite of winter, Jack Frost himself! But with that knowledge also came the discovery that Jack had been protecting her from the Spring Maiden, who hated her for some reason, but now he was gone, and she had to find three items to see him again. She dried her eyes, took a deep breath, and set out on her journey.

Surprisingly, she knew where to go, and had a fairly easy journey towards hers first destination, which she found to be Dream Island, where the Sandman slept. The little fellow woke and recognized her. When Rapunzel told him her dilemma, Sandy himself took her to the Mermaid Queen, a dear friend of his. They found the Mermaid Queen in a grotto, surrounded by several of her mermaids. Rapunzel gasped, the Mermaid Queen was lovely with her glistening brown skin and a crown of shells and pearls set gracefully atop her black curls. Rapunzel couldn't tell where the Mermaid Queen's shirt ended and her tail began, both were of the same shade of golden yellow.

"Why, hello Sandy! What bring you here, my friend?" Sandy pointed to Rapunzel, who quickly curtseyed. "My, what a lovely child, and a lovely curtsy! Come closer. What brings you here, child?" Rapunzel told her everything that had happened with Jack Frost and the Spring Maiden.

"So, if I want to see him again, I have to get a candle from La Muerte, a necklace from the Snow Maiden, and a comb from the Mermaid Queen," finished Rapunzel. "Um, may I have the comb, great Mermaid Queen?"

"Oh, please, you may call me Nyala."

"Nyala, that's a pretty name."

"Why thank you child. Now, here is a comb, don't let anyone see this or even use it on anyone. Just make sure it gets into the Spring Maiden's hands."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Rapunzel gave Nyala a hug after she took the comb.

"You are most welcome. But, why would Molly request such a thing?"

"I don't know, she didn't explain anything to me, just that if I wanted to see Jack again, I had to gather those three things."

"Hmm, and what were the other two things, again?"

"A necklace from the Snow Maiden and a candle from La Muerte."

Nyala nodded slowly, "I see. Well, night has fallen and you still have a ways to go, would you like to sleep here?"

"Oh, can I? Thank you!" Rapunzel let the mermaids play with her long hair before she fell asleep to their songs. In the morning, she found that the mermaids had entwined pearls and small shells into her hair, and that Sandy was ready to take her to her next destination. Sandy created an airplane out of his dream sand, and flew her to the North Pole. After explaining everything to North, North gave her some winterwear and directions to the Snow Maiden. Insisting that she go by herself, Rapunzel set off across the tundra, searching for an ice palace. She followed North's directions to a t, and came across the gates of an exquisite ice palace. She knocked on the doors, and the two snowmen sentries came to life, startling her.

"What's the password?" they called out in unison.

"Ah! What? Th-the password?"

"That's what we're asking you. What's the password?"

"I, I don't know, Mr. North didn't tell me about a password."

"Because he doesn't need it. So, what is it?"

"Can't you let the Snow Maiden know I need to see her?"

"Nope, we cannot leave our posts."

"Oh, um, may I have a hint?"

"What do you think it could be?"

Rapunzel took a look around, "Um, snow?"

"Nope."

"Snowflake?"

"Nope."

"Snowstorm?"

"Nope."

"Oh come on! Please just let me in! She has something that will let me see Jack Frost again!" The snowmen didn't say anything as the doors instantly swung open and a girl not much older than Rapunzel stood on the other side. Rapunzel wanted to burst into tears, the girl reminded her of Jack so much, the same white hair and blue eyes, even wearing a blue coat lined with white fur.

"What did you say about Jack Frost?"

"You have something that will let me see him again," Rapunzel just about whispered, beginning to choke on her tears.

"Come in, you have to tell us everything. Grandfather! Grandfather!" called out the Snow Maiden. An elderly man peeked out from behind a door.

"Yes Sarah?"

"This girl knows what happened to Jack!"

Her grandfather glanced at Rapunzel, "She does? Well, bring her in if she can tell us where Jack is!" The two walked into the room, alight with the glow from a fire burning brightly in a stone fireplace. They sat Rapunzel down, got her some tea and cookies, and Rapunzel told them everything.

"I have the comb from Nyala, now I need the necklace from you, and a candle from La Muerte," she finished. Sarah and her grandfather sat still for a few seconds before Sarah rose and left the room.

"Why does Molly hate you so much?"

"I think, I think it's because, back home, everyone called me the new Spring Maiden, and, they might have stopped believing in her."

"Grandfather, you were always saying . . ."

"Ah, Sarah, you have the necklace, good. You need to free Jack as soon as possible, winter will be here soon, and we need him."

"Just don't let anyone see or wear the necklace."

Rapunzel nodded as she slipped the necklace into the same pocket as the comb, "OK, thank you so much! Now all that's left is the candle from La Muerte!"

"We know of a shortcut . . ."

"Grandfather!"

He shook his head, "It's the only way, she would never find it on her own."

"But Grandfather!"

He laid a hand on her shoulder, "You must believe. Come Rapunzel, we must be quick." Rapunzel followed him through the castle to another room where a lake was in the center of it. "You must swim quickly to the very bottom, a portal to La Muerte's domain lies at the very bottom, but it is only open for so long every day. If you are fast enough, you just might be able to reach it before it closes. It will look like a light, if it's getting bigger, you are getting closer, but if it begins to fade, then you have already lost your chance for today. Now go quickly!"

Rapunzel hugged him and Sarah, "Thank you both so much! I'll free Jack as soon as I can!" She quickly made sure that the comb and the necklace were secure before descending into the lake. Before she went completely under, she sang and her hair glowed. Sarah and her grandfather watched in amazement, but before they could ask any questions, Rapunzel took a deep breath and went under. Thanks to her hair, the water was fairly warm, for the most part. As she went deeper, the water got really cold, but she kept going. When she thought she couldn't hold her breath any longer, that's when she saw a light in the darkness. She quickly swam towards it, her heart leaping for joy as the light grew bigger. She broke the surface, and gasped for breath, her lungs stinging with having to hold her breath for so long. But the air that met her seemed rather sweet, not musty as she had expected from the underworld. She pulled herself onto the bank, and set off in search of La Muerte. She came across a parade filled with people.

"Hello! Can someone tell me where La Muerte is?" A man on a horse approached her.

"Ah, you must be new here! Come on, I'll show you the way!"

"Oh, thank you, you're so kind!" Rapunzel got on the horse behind him, and they trotted off towards an elegant palace. He set her down at the door.

"La Muerte is just inside. Good luck!"

"Thank you!" waved Rapunzel as he rode off to help some other new soul. Rapunzel dashed into the palace, where a long table filled with food awaited, and at the head of the table sat La Muerte.

"Well hello there, but, you're not dead. What are you doing here?" Rapunzel told her what had happened with Jack and Molly.

"I have the comb from Nyala and the necklace from Sarah, all I need is a candle from you."

"Really? Did Molly specify which candle?"

"Uh, no, I didn't realize there were specific kinds. She only said to get one."

"Uh-huh, I see. Wait here, and don't touch anything." La Muerte left for a few minutes. Rapunzel glanced around the room while she waited, but didn't touch a thing. La Muerte came back with a candle and a lantern. "Here is a candle, keep it in the lantern at all times, don't let it get blown out, not even Molly, understand?"

"Yes. Oh, thank you so much! Um, how do I get back to the surface?"

"Where did Molly want you to meet her?"

"At the old tower just on the outskirts of Corona."

"Ah yes, that's a bit of a walk. Come on, I'll walk you there."

"Oh, thank you! You've all been so kind to me, how can I ever repay you?"

"By setting Jack free, and loving him the way Molly never could."

"Wait, what? What do you mean?"

La Muerte chuckled, "He's quite handsome, don't you think?"

Rapunzel blushed, "Y-yes."

"And his personality, how can anyone not love him? But many of us knew there could only be one girl for him, so we each took a step back and looked for our true loves. It was easy for Sarah since she is his sister, and Nyala as she had begun to fall in love with Sandy."

"Does Sandy love her back?"

"Val certainly thinks so, and he's the expert on love, so, we take his word for it."

"And what about you, and Mother Nature, and Mother Goose, and the Tooth Fairy? Um, is there anyone else?"

"Oh, several more, my child, but you've named those of us who are the closest to him. Mother Nature, though, never really fell in love with him, like Sarah, she considers him a brother. I was the next to take a step back, though I have not found my true love yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"What's to be sorry about? I have time on my side." La Muerte winked, resulting in a chuckle from Rapunzel. "And it's not like I've given up searching. But Mother Goose and the Tooth Fairy took a while longer, Tooth Fairy only thanks to Val. Which left Mother Goose and the Spring Maiden to vy for Jack's affections. Eventually Mother Goose met someone who she came to love quite dearly, you know him as Grimm, the two take care of bedtime stories and nightlights. So, Molly thought she had Jack all to herself."

"But, Jack didn't really love her."

La Muerte shook her head, "No, he really didn't. He had thought about Tooth and Katherine, but they did eventually fall in love with someone else, so that really left him with Molly. He wasn't exactly too thrilled about it, she acted way too grown-up for him, far too demanding of his time, and just far too controlling. We all noticed it, Grandfather Frost in particular didn't like her. Jack is a free spirit, you can't exactly keep him all caged up to be let out at your convenience, you have to let him go so that he can come back to you." La Muerte paused and glanced at Rapunzel, "Consider this an odd question, but, if you were in fact the Spring Maiden, what would you do if Jack had to leave for weeks at a time? What would you think?"

"Nothing, I mean, he has to do his work, right?"

La Muerte nodded, "Good answer, Molly would think he was off flirting with some other girl or taking his sweet old time getting back."

"Why? Jack wants to have some fun, that's all."

La Muerte chuckled, "Looks like he picked the right woman to love." Rapunzel glanced down, unsure of what to say. La Muerte pointed, "Behind that waterfall is your destination. It will get dark, and that candle isn't the best at providing enough light. Will you be alright?"

"Oh, yes! My hair glows when I sing, so, I'll be fine."

"Your hair glows?"

"Um, yeah, you want to see?"

"Yes, this is interesting." Rapunzel sang, and La Muerte gasped when her hair glowed. She touched the hair for a bit, a thoughtful look on her face as she let go of the strands. "This is very interesting. How long has it been able to do that?"

"Ever since I was born. I can heal people with it when it glows."

"Very interesting. You should get going, the first day of winter is only a few days away."

"Oh, right, thank you again, for everything." Rapunzel gave her a quick hug.

"It was my pleasure, now go, win back your love." Rapunzel nodded and, once she was sure she had all three items, she stepped through the waterfall, singing along the way.

She came out on the other side, and gasped, there stood the old tower. Her heart leaped for joy, it was almost over, and she could see Jack again! She could see the door from where she stood, and rushed towards it.

"Molly? Spring Maiden? I have all the items!" she called out when she entered. There was a rustling from the second floor, and Rapunzel went up the stairs to investigate. "Spring Maiden? Are you here?" She pushed open the trapdoor, and gasped. "Jack!" There he was, bound and gagged by vines.

"So you made it," stated Molly as she stepped between the two.

"I' ve got everything you asked for, now let him go!"

"Hand them over first. The comb from the Mermaid Queen." Rapunzel took out the comb and handed it to her, along with the necklace. "And the necklace from the Snow Maiden, very good. And now, the candle from La Muerte." Rapunzel handed over the lantern. Molly looked inside. "Very, very good. And you're not dead yet. Which means they helped you."

"They want Jack back just as much as I do."

"But not more than me! He's supposed to belong to me! And you, you of all people stole him from me!"

"I'm sorry! But I have no control over how Jack feels! Do you really love him?"

"Yes!"

"Then let him go."

"Just so you can turn around and steal him again?"

"I'll exchange myself for him."

"What?" Jack struggled against the vines, shaking his head and trying to say no through the gag.

"Let him go and, take me instead."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because everybody needs him. That's why I got help, they want him to be free, they need him to be free. And if getting me out of the way is the only way to do that, then, take me instead, hide me away until I die and rot. I'm not immortal like the rest of you." It became eerily quiet, even Jack's muffled screams came to a halt. Rapunzel dared a glance at Jack, he shook his head no. But she glanced back at Molly, determination set in her face. Molly set the items down on a desk before sitting down in the chair. "You would do that, for him?"

"Yes."

"Because you love him."

"Yes," Rapunzel whispered. Molly turned to glance at the mirror and slowly pulled the comb through her dark curls. "Wait, what are you doing? Nyala said . . ."

"The Mermaid Queen or Mami Wata! Since when did you two get so chummy that you know her real name?"

"She told me to use that name."

"You know the Snow Maiden's name too, huh?"

"Yes, it's Sarah."

"And La Muerte?"

"Actually, no, I don't know hers."

"I see, and what did they say about what not to do with these items?"

"Nyala said not to use the comb, Sarah said not to wear the necklace, and La Muerte said not to blow out the candle."

"Oh really? You couldn't, but I am a Guardian, I can. Watch." Moly gave a sly smirk at Jack. "You think she's prettier than I am? I shall soon be even prettier." She put the necklace on.

"No, wait!" Rapunzel gave a shriek as vines grabbed her ankles and wrists. Molly turned to finish combing her hair with the comb. "What are you doing?"

"My dear, it came to me through your hands, I shall get everything you had, once I blow out the candle."

"No, wait! La Muerte said that not even you can blow it out" Molly scoffed as she opened the lantern, and blew out the flame. Jack glanced at Rapunzel with horror, but it was Molly who shrieked.

"What's going on? What's happening?" she cried out as her skin became wrinkled and her hair turned gray.

"I said that not even you should blow out the candle, Molly, because it was really your own." La Muerte appeared at the trapdoor.

"What? Catrina, why would you do such a thing?"

"Because you were going to destroy the gift Lady Sun sent to us. It manifested in this girl's hair. Rapunzel, sing." Jack's and Molly's eyed widened as Rapunzel sang, and her hair glowed.

"It is the flower, I thought we had lost it!" exclaimed a dark-haired woman as she and a man in green came up the stairs.

"The flower? It was used to save my mother and me!"

"And it was in you this whole time." The woman waved her hand, and the vines released their prisoners. Jack quickly rushed towards Rapunzel and pulled her into a hug.

"Apparently so, Emily, our search is over," smiled the green man.

Emily laughed, "And no wonder we couldn't find it, Johnny, it wasn't a flower anymore, it was a girl!"

"And you're Mother Nature!" blurted Rapunzel as she gave a quick curtsy.

"That I am." Emily turned to Molly. "Care to explain what's been going on and why my lead winter spirit has been trapped up here for days?"

"I, uh, I . . . I . . ."

"May I, Emily?" asked Jack.

"Yes, Jack?"

"She's been jealous of Rapunzel this whole time because she thinks Rapunzel is better and prettier than she is, and . . ."

"And you love Rapunzel," finished Catrina.

"Yes, I do."

"No! You should love me! Not that stupid witch!"

"I decide who I love, Molly, not you!"

Molly began to seethe, "Fine then, you little runt! Here, you can take your sister's necklace back! Ah!" Molly tore the necklace off, but as she did so, took a wrong step and fell out of the window.

"Molly!" The group rushed to the window, but all that was left was a cloak and the necklace.

Catrina sighed, "The necklace was keeping her alive. If she had just waited a few minutes, I would have relit the candle."

"And now we don't have a Spring Maiden," stated Jack.

"Actually, yes, we do." Everyone glanced at Emily, who merely smiled and glanced at Rapunzel.

"Wait, me, the new Spring Maiden? Uh no no no."

"Your hair has the gift Lady Sun sent us, it can heal, and it can melt the snow. I think that, because of it, you are now immortal."

"I, I don't know, I just want to be with Jack."

"And by becoming the Spring Maiden, you can take your rightful place by his side."

"But what about Molly? Didn't any of you care for her?"

"I'm afraid not, she was becoming far too controlling and demanding, and that opened the door to jealousy and darkness entering her heart. So, what do you say? Will you become a Guardian, the new Spring Maiden?" Jack's fingers intertwined with hers as he looked at her.

"And will you marry me?"

Rapunzel smiled, "I will, for both." Jack smiled as he pulled her in for a well-deserved, long-awaited kiss.


	20. Tangled with the Guardians (Buried Moon)

The Man in the Moon was leading her somewhere, she didn't know where, but she had to follow, he told her it was important. And being the closest thing to a daughter to him, she followed. The Man in the Moon's beams led her straight to a large building sitting amidst sparkling snow. She had no problem with the cold, and stood there for a while, mesmerized by the scene. The snow sparkled like dew in the pale moonlight while the windows of the building were all aglow with a warm fiery light. She approached the building slowly, her curiosity beginning to take over as the moonlight urged her on. She pulled her dark blue hood over her blonde head and entered the door the moonlight indicated for her. She walked around the place for a bit, seeing that there were toys, elves, and Yetis all over the place.

She smiled, "Santa Claus' workshop, huh?" She entered a room with a globe and the moon peeking through a hole in the roof. "But, why lead me here?"

"Who are you?" She glanced around for the voice when a figure glided to the ground. He had white hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen, as blue as the morning sky. He was practically dressed in an outfit fit for a prince, all decked out in purples and golds. At least it wasn't one of those over-the-top suits that some princes liked to wear, otherwise she would have turned and ran out. He was taken back when she pulled back her hood. "Whoa, well you're cute. I could almost forgive you."

"What? I came here because the Man in the Moon told me to," she blurted.

"Oh, sorry. He did? Hang on a second, I need to get North. Hey North!" he shouted.

"What is it Jack?"

"Manny sent this girl to us, and she's really cute!" She shot him a glare. "What? You are!"

"Right, I don't see how that helps me find the answer I'm looking for!"

"Oh yeah? What was your question?"

"Should I stay here, or go live with dad?"

"Dad?"

"Yes, the Man in the Moon is the closest thing I have to family."

"So, what can you do?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"When I sing, my hair glows, I can shoot light, and I can heal whoever I touch."

"Shouldn't your hair be long, then?"

Jack chuckled as he ran his fingers through his hair, "Yeah, well, I've been able to talk to Lady Sun, and she told me how to keep my hair short without losing any of its powers. I mean, can you see me going around with loads and loads of hair?"

She laughed, "No, I don't think I could see that, though it would be funny. You'd be tripping all over yourself."

"Har har, very funny, I'm not as clumsy as that. So, who are you, and what can you do?"

"Well, I'm Rapunzel, and my hair shines too, but it's connected to moonlight rather than sunlight. I scare away all the nasties that'll come up."

"Ah, good! Manny said we needed your help!" Rapunzel yelped and jumped behind Jack as a big figured dressed in red walked in. "Oh, sorry, I forget I can be quiet sometimes."

"Yeah, no kidding. How much did you catch, North?"

"That whole last bit about her hair being connected to moonlight rather than sunlight and being able to chase the nasties away with it. Well we've got a nasty problem, Miss Rapunzel, have you ever heard of Pitch Black?"

"The Boogeyman?"

"The one and only," commented Jack.

"What? You, you want me to fight him?"

"More like scare him, I mean, if you can chase all the nasties, you could chase him."

"But, why did Dad not tell me? Unless . . . there was another reason."

"Well, Manny only mentioned that we needed your help to take care of Pitch."

"That's it?"

"Yes, were you looking for more?"

Rapunzel sighed as she glanced at the moon, "Yes, but, maybe he thinks I need to do this before my other questions are answered."

"What other questions?" asked North.

"I'd, I'd rather not talk about it right now, it's kind of personal."

"Alright, well, Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy are on their way, and I'm sure they would like to meet you," stated North.

"Alright, I'll be out for a walk, I need to think some things through for a bit."

"OK, I'll come find you when they're here," offered Jack.

Rapunzel smiled, "Thanks." She walked out, and walked for a while, not paying any mind to where she was going, so deep in thought she was. She glanced up in alarm when she found herself at an old, gnarled tree. She had walked a long ways south of the workshop without realizing it. She glanced around, there weren't very many other landmarks, the tree seemed to be almost as lonely as she felt. She sighed as she pulled her hood over her head and sat down in the nook of the tree. She glanced up at the moon and sighed, "Well Manny, is that your answer? I should help them chase away the Boogeyman? I guess I could, but, you know what I really want. A home, a family, someone to love, no more loneliness." A noise to her left startled her, but she got up and went to investigate. She saw a man walking through the increasing fog, a look of fear on his face, and she quickly saw why. Little fearlings and bogies were crowding around him, pushing him into a lake. Rapunzel took off her hood, her hair shining enough that it chased the fearlings and bogies away, letting the man get through the fog easier.

"Well, well, well, that's quite a bit of power you have there," stated a cool voice. Rapunzel gasped as she turned and came face to face with a tall, dark man.

"Pitch Black!"

Pitch chuckled, "Well, it seems I'm quite well known. But, I'm afraid I don't know who you are."

"I-I'm Rapunzel."

"Ah, I think I do know you, only by name, of course, but never saw your face. Or your powers. It's almost like there's moonlight in your hair, how interesting." Pitch reached for her hair, but Rapunzel grabbed his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"More to the point, Rapunzel, what are you doing?"

"What?" Several of Pitch's bogies and fearlings swarmed her, pushing her into the roots of the tree and rolled a rock in front of it. "Help! Let me out! Help!"

Pitch clucked his tongue, "Really, I thought you would have made that a lot harder, but a great many thanks for making that easy. Now all that's left is to take care of that Jack."

"No! Leave him alone!"

"Oh, you like him? How sweet! Then maybe you wouldn't mind sharing a prison with him. You two, stand guard! Once we've gotten Jack out of the way, we'll be able to overcome the Guardians!" The fearlings, nightmares, and bogies cheered.

"No!" Rapunzel shouted as she tried to get out.

"Keep her quiet! I have some more planning to do to imprison Jack. Make sure they never find her." With that, Pitch walked off into the night.

"What's taking him so long? I've got eggs I need to get back to!" blurted Bunny as he paced the workshop.

"Give him a bit more time, she didn't tell us where she would be walking, and we wanted to give her some space," explained North.

"Can you believe it Sandy? We've got a guy who's got the power of the sun and a girl who's got the power of the moon! Defeating Pitch will be a snitch!" Sandy gave Tooth a smile and two thumbs up.

Katherine chuckled as she rubbed down Kailash, "Who knows, we might have a little romance too."

"Oh, what makes you say that?" asked Eugene as he entered with a book in his hand.

"Well, from what I've gathered from North, she's young and the first thing Jack noticed was how pretty she was."

North laughed, "Oh quite, his first words were, 'there's a girl here and she's cute'!" The others laughed.

"North! North!"

"Ah, speaking of. Jack, where is Rapunzel?"

"That's the thing, I can't find her!" Laughter startled them.

"And you never will, I've hidden her quite well."

"Pitch, you let her go right now, or . . ."

"Or what? You'll blast me with your shiny hair? Then you really will never get her back. How about this? An exchange, you for her."

"What?"

"No! We will find her, if we have to track her down ourselves!" exclaimed North. The group charged Pitch, taking out several nightmares and fearlings before realizing that he was gone.

"What were you doing? I could have accepted his deal!"

"You can't trust Pitch, Jack, he needs both of you gone if he expects to stand a chance against us and win," remarked Eugene. Moonlight flooded the room.

"Manny might know! Where is she old friend?" Four shadows appeared, the first was of a man, the second was a coffin, the third a candle, and finally a cross.

"We have to find those to find Rapunzel?" The shadow of a man's head appeared and nodded, followed by the word 'hurry'.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We have to go!"

"Jack wait!" Eugene climbed on Kailash behind Katherine and the trio followed Jack out, the others not far behind. They flew south for a ways, when Katherine's book began to glow.

"Everyone, stop! There's a story being told that my book found interest in!"

"But Rapunzel!"

"What if it's someone who saw her?"

Jack clenched his teeth, "Alright, but make it quick!" Kailash landed first, followed by North's sleigh. Katherine and Eugene quickly entered the bar to get the story. Jack paced back and forth between the sleigh and the bar, unsure if he should go into the bar to see if the story was in fact about Rapunzel or if he should just head off and look for the signs himself. But Katherine and Eugene came out rather quick, excitement written all over their faces.

"It was about Rapunzel! He saw her in the foggy field just west of here by an old tree!"

"She saved him from some fearlings and bogies!" blurted Eugene. Jack didn't wait to hear any more and shot off west, looking for the tree. He soon found it, and understood instantly what the last three symbols actually meant. Two will-o-the-wykes, a nastier version of will-o-the-wisps, stood guard by the tree with a stone rolled in front of it. There was Rapunzel's prison. The wykes noticed Jack coming in, but didn't stand a chance as he blasted them with sunlight.

"Rapunzel, are you alright?" he called out as he pulled on the rock.

"Jack! You found me! Oh, thank heavens! Pitch said he was going to capture you, and . . . look out!" Jack turned over and shot some light from his hands, and just in time as Pitch's dark sand was shot at him.

Pitch laughed, "So, you've come! As I had hoped. Now I can trap the both of you, and keep you from interfering with my plans!"

"Not on your life, Pitch!" Jack threw light at Pitch, and Pitch threw shadows at Jack. The battle became very intense, light and dark swirling and thundering as if in a storm. Pitch created a large scythe-like weapon out of his dark sand and swung it at Jack's head. Jack snatched up a branch and blocked the blow, sending light in kind.

"Jack, look out!" screamed Rapunzel. Fearlings, nightmares, and bogies began to surround Jack, ready to swarm at the slightest sign from Pitch.

Pitch laughed, "This is the end for you, Jack."

"Not yet, Pitch! Hiya!" came a shout, and in swooped North's sleigh. Bunny hopped off and sent his boomerangs through a crowd of fearlings while Eugene's and North's swords slashed through bogies, and Sandy and Tooth went after the Nightmares. Katherine and Kailash landed near the tree and worked on freeing Rapunzel, leaving Pitch to Jack. Pitch roared and charged Jack, but Jack met the onslaught head on, the battle between them intensifying even more than before. Katherine and Kailash finally freed Rapunzel, and Rapunzel immediately threw off her hood. Pitch's minions shrieked as the light seemed to burn them, and made a hasty retreat.

"No! Get back here! We can take them!"

"It's over, Pitch, we've won," remarked Jack.

Pitch growled, "You may have won today, but I will be back, and I will find a way to destroy you!" He disappeared into the shadows, and when they didn't see his return, they began to celebrate.

"Oh Jack, you were wonderful!" grinned Rapunzel as she rushed into Jack's arms.

He nuzzled her neck, "I'm just glad you're alright." Rapunzel smiled, but gasped when he gave her a quick kiss.

"Jack! We just met!"

He chuckled as he pulled her close, "So? We've got a long time to get to know each other well, don't you think?"

"Well, we can start by you showing me around the workshop."

"Uh, how about we start with introducing you to the rest of the Guardians."

"I'd like that." Jack quickly made introductions before the group made their way back to the North Pole for a celebration, to welcome Rapunzel and for the defeat of Pitch.


	21. A Trip Through Wonderland

Rapunzel hummed away as she went about cleaning up the tower. It was a gorgeous Sunday morning in spring, the birds were chirping, the flowers were in bloom, the grass was a lovely green, and the squirrels were chattering away. Rapunzel sighed as she glanced out her window at the morning ensemble. The world was alive and bursting with song! While she could only watch from afar.

"Oh, Pascal, when will Mother let me out of the tower? I feel like there's so much I'm missing! Maybe she'll let me on my birthday, I'll be eighteen this year, a full grown adult!" Pascal gave her two thumbs up, sort of. Rapunzel chuckled, "Yes, I'll ask her. But that's still almost two months away!" She let out a breath, "But the wait will be worth it. What should we do now?" She turned away from the window to go into the room when a voice caught her attention.

"I'm late! I can't believe North made me late! Christmas is not more important than Easter! Let's see how he feels if I make him late for Christmas!" Rapunzel gaped at the large rabbit that came out of a hole in the ground and bounded off through the vines, taking him to the other side of her little world.

"Pascal, did, did you see that? A talking rabbit! A large, talking rabbit!" Rapunzel's hand flew to her mouth. Pascal's mouth merely dropped in surprise. "We, we need to get down there!" Pascal glanced at her, as if to exclaim, what? "Oh, but what would Mother say? Well, I'm not really going too far, just to the hole and back. I mean, how is that still there?" Pascal nodded and climbed on to her shoulder, tying a strand of hair around his body. She smiled, "Thanks Pascal." Pascal nodded and smiled back. "Oh, wait, I should arm myself!" She quickly grabbed a pan before lowering herself to the ground.

Ecstatic at finally being out of the tower, she walked around for a bit, feeling the grass beneath her feet. She became serious when she approached the hole, and very cautious as she peered over the edge. "I wonder where that goes," she muttered. She wasn't watching where she was stepping, and took a step right over the edge, hurtling her into the hole. She screamed as she tumbled down, unable to find anything to stop her descent. She quickly got up when she stopped, and gasped. She found herself in the most wonderful place she had ever seen. There were flowers everywhere! The trees were covered with pink blossoms while flowers of every hue and shape were scattered all over the place, covering the ground in a rainbow carpet.

"Wow," she breathed as she walked through the place. "Pascal, have you ever seen a more beautiful place?" She gasped as she noticed a strange-colored river flowing through the field, and little eggs on legs were falling into it. They popped out in different colors. "Well, I'm never drinking out of that river," she muttered. She glanced at Pascal, and giggled. "Come on, let's go see what else is here!" She gathered up her hair and went exploring. She found where the eggs came from, and followed the whole process.

A noise made her pause and, thinking quickly, she ducked behind a boulder just as a brown shape raced by.

"Alright, next batch! We've got two more stops, let's hustle!" Rapunzel peeked out from behind the boulder and watched the large rabbit gather a lot of eggs and take off through a tunnel. Rapunzel tried to follow, but found that the rabbit was already gone, and that the tunnel he went through led to six more large tunnels that could be seen was each branched off into several more.

Rapunzel let out a huff, "OK, so, which one will take us back home?" She walked in front of each of the larger six tunnels, looking for any clues that might show her the way, but they were all pretty dark. Letting out a breath, she began to sing, and her hair glowed. She sang slowly so she could try and see anything down the tunnels, and though she sang three times, her hair could only illuminate a short distance. "Well, there goes that. I guess I'm going to have to just explore." She smiled at Pascal, "Not that I have a problem with it, I might be able to see a lot of the world! I just hope I can get back to the tower before Mother gets back. She'll be so worried! But, she'll be proud that I can take care of myself!" She tucked the frying pan under her arm and gathered up her hair again. "Now, which one?" She looked at each one before letting out a sigh. "Well, here goes." She took a few steps into the second tunnel before pausing, listening. The only noise she heard was the chirping of birds. She waited a bit longer to see if she could hear anything else, but when no other noises reached her ears, she continued on.

She walked briskly, but it was still a few minutes before she came to the end of the tunnel. "A dead end! Ugh, let's go check another tunnel, Pascal." Rapunzel grumbled as she retraced her steps. "Why does that rabbit have a dead end for one of its tunnels? I mean, what would the point of it be? Unless, unless it was to catch trespassers like, well, like me. But, I accidentally fell in and I'm trying to get out! Well, maybe I should have waited for the rabbit, it really was an accident. Maybe it will understand and help us get back home. I mean, rabbits are really nice, right? Ah!" Rapunzel yelped and held out her frying pan defensively, the rabbit was standing in front of the tunnel opening, practically towering over her.

"Now how did you get here?"

"Oh, um, I fell into your hole by accident," she grinned sheepishly as she lowered the pan.

"You did what?"

"Yeah, um, you left your hole open outside my house, and, uh, I fell in."

The rabbit groaned, "Really? Of course. Where are you from?"

"From?"

"Yeah, which country?"

"Uh, I, I don't know. Mother never told me. It's the country with the floating lights every summer, I guess."

"Wait, you don't even know which country you're from?" Rapunzel shook her head. "You've got to be kidding me! This is bloody ridiculous! I've got one more continent to take care of, I don't have the time to babysit a sheila like you!"

"A wh-what?"

"And what's with all that hair?"

"Um, it's a long story . . ."

"As long as the hair?"

Rapunzel chuckled nervously, "No, not that long."

"OK, tell me on the way."

"The way to where?"

"To North's place, at the North Pole. He's going to have to help you, I'm too busy right now. Now hurry up and get on, and hang on tight."

"Um, O . . . K!" Rapunzel yelled as the rabbit took off like a shot through another tunnel. Rapunzel held on for dear life, but found that she was able to tell her story to the rabbit, who she found out was none other than the Easter Bunny. By the time the two got to the North Pole, they were chatting away like they were old friends, and Rapunzel found out that sheila meant woman in Australian slang. She gasped when they got top-side, the land was covered in a blanket of snow that glittered under the rising sun.

"It's so . . . wonderful!" she gasped.

Bunny chuckled, "Right, wait until you feel how cold it is, and you meet Frost. It's won't be as pretty once you've met him especially."

"Frost?"

"Yeah, Jack Frost, he's probably out looking for some way to ruin Easter again."

"What? Why would he do that?"

"He's an irresponsible show pony, that's what he is, always playing tricks of some kind."

"Oh, well, sounds like he could be lots of fun."

"Yeah, until he gets annoying, which can be bloody quick, let me tell you. Hey North! North! Come on North, I'm behind as it is, don't make me even more late!"

"Well, if you're behind why are you . . ." North came out of his workshop and paused when his eyes fell upon Rapunzel.

She smiled and waved, "Um, hi."

"This sheila fell into one of my holes, but she doesn't know which country she's from. Think you could help her out, considering it's the least you can do for making me late in the first place?"

"Wait, is that the Easter Bunny I hear? I thought you were so upset that North made you late for Easter that . . ." A boy not much older than Rapunzel with white hair and blue eyes appeared around the corner, and stopped when he saw her.

Rapunzel smiled and waved again, "Hi."

"Uh, hi . . . which flower did you crawl out of?"

"Say what?"

"Oh rack off, you bloody show pony, no one gave you permission to start flirting with her."

"Pfft, I don't need permission, Bunny. But seriously, where did you come from?"

"I, I really don't know the name of the country, but, it's the one with the floating lights that appear every summer on my birthday."

"Really, huh? Sorry, can't help you, don't get out much during the summer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm Jack Frost, and I'm the Guardian of winter and fun," he grinned and winked.

"Oh, um, well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Frost, I'm Rapunzel."

Jack took her hand to his lips, "Always a pleasure, Miss Rapunzel, but do call me Jack, will you?"

Rapunzel gave a little giggle, "Alright, Jack."

"Alright you two, Valentine's Day was a couple of months ago, and I've got to get back to hiding eggs. See you around North!" Bunny tapped the ground and a hole appeared, disappearing after Bunny had jumped into the hole.

"So, um, well, could you, um, help me get back home?"

"Oh, yeah, sure . . . if you don't mind the long way around."

"Um, I kind of need to get back home soon, Mother will be so worried once she finds out I'm missing."

"Oh wow, you're not an adult yet?"

Rapunzel shook her head, "Not yet, I'm turning eighteen this summer."

"Oh, well, happy early birthday."

"Thanks, but it's not for another two and a half months."

"Well, somebody's been counting," smirked Jack.

"OK, that is enough, we must figure out where Miss Rapunzel comes from and get her home. To the sleigh! We shall visit the Tooth Fairy and quite possibly the Sandman."

Rapunzel gasped, "Really?"

"Yeah, it's awesome! But the sleigh's the best part," grinned Jack as they followed Santa through his workshop.

"Come on, keep up! As you say, Miss Rapunzel, we do not have much time."

"Oh come on, North, slow down and let her get a good look at the place! She might not get another chance!"

"Oh no, that's fine, I really need to get ba-ah!" Rapunzel let out a little shriek as yeti after yeti, and elves, walked all over her trailing hair.

"Ach! What is it now?"

"Uh, North! We've got to do something about her hair!" exclaimed Jack as he helped her gather it all up.

"Well, there you go, you've already figured it out. Help her carry it to the sleigh, Jack, and let's go!"

Jack grumbled, "What, really? Can't one of the yetis do it?"

"Please?" Jack blinked as he looked at Rapunzel's pleading face.

"What? You have an idea?" Rapunzel and Jack glanced at North as a yeti talked to him. "Alright, but make it quick. He wants you to sit on the floor and lay out the hair behind you!"

"Um, OK." Rapunzel sat on the floor and Jack rolled out the hair. The yeti called up another yeti and several of the elves to Rapunzel's hair. She winced more out of nervousness than pain as they approached, but Jack crouched by her side, which instantly helped to put her at ease. The yetis and the elves worked quickly, and in a matter of minutes, Rapunzel's long hair was braided and wrapped in fake Christmas lights.

"Oh, why thank you! It's lovely!" She gave them each a quick peck on the cheek before Jack pulled her towards where North stood, waiting for them. Jack merely grinned sheepishly at North's raised eyebrow and knowing smirk. But he helped them get into the sleigh, the reindeer pawing impatiently at the ground, itching to leave.

"Alright, you ready?"

"Oh yeah." Jack winked at Rapunzel, "You're going to love this."

"Hiyah!" North cracked the reins, and the reindeer took off. Rapunzel let out a little shriek as she fell back in her seat and scooted closer to Jack for support.

"Oh, don't worry, you won't fall out, but, if it makes you feel safer," he stated as he put his arm around her, right as they went into the loop-the-loop. Rapunzel held onto Jack, but she was clearly enjoying the ride.

"Ha-ha, blast off!"

Rapunzel let out a squeal, "That was so much fun! Can we do it again?"

"You don't get out much, do you?"

"Um, no . . . is it that obvious?" Rapunzel grinned sheepishly.

"Blatantly."

"Hang on, I'm taking a shortcut." North pulled out a snow globe, swirled it around, and said, "I say, Tooth Palace." He threw it, and a circular distortion appeared in the sky.

"Um, what's that?"

"A portal," replied Jack as North cracked the reins, and the reindeer took them through. Rapunzel grasped Jack's sleeve and gasped as they went through.

"What the?"

"See? A portal takes you anywhere in the world. We just went from the North Pole to the Tooth Palace in seconds when normal travel could have taken us . . ."

"About five weeks," replied North as he brought them to a landing.

"Wow," breathed Rapunzel as she glanced around. "It's a lovely place."

"Why thank you! But what are you doing here?"

Rapunzel gave a shriek and jumped behind Jack as the fairy flew in closer, "Who, who are you?"

"Why, this is the Tooth Fairy. Tooth, we were wondering if you could help us. This little lady fell into one of Bunny's holes by accident and we're trying to figure out where's she's from. Can you help?"

"Um, I don't know, I've never seen her before. I don't think I have her teeth," stated Tooth as she looked closer at Rapunzel.

Rapunzel sighed, "No, you, you wouldn't have come. Nobody but Mother has ever come to the tower."

"But wait," began Jack. Everyone looked at him. "Didn't you say it's the country where they do the floating lights on your birthday every year?"

Rapunzel's eyes widened, "Oh yes!"

"Don't you mean lanterns? But you've been to a few of those lantern festivals, haven't you Jack?" asked Tooth.

"Yeah, but her lantern festival occurs on her birthday, in the summer. How many countries do you know of that has a lantern festival in the summer?"

Tooth thought for a few moments before exclaiming, "Ooh, ooh, I do know of a country that releases lanterns every year on the princess' birthday!"

"Hey! How about that? You share a birthday with the princess!" grinned Jack as he nudged her.

"Oh wow. Um, what was it called?"

"I can't remember, it has something to do with the sun, that I do remember . . ." One of her little fairies approached and squeaked something. "That's right, we just got a tooth from there today! Come on, I'll show you!"

"Right behind you, Tooth! Hiyah!" The reindeer took off again, following the Tooth Fairy as closely as possible as she led them through the clouds. Jack was able to coax Rapunzel's story out of her as they flew along, but not before she elicited a promise from North and Jack not to tell anyone. They were surprised, of course, at the news, but Rapunzel's fears were put to ease when they didn't ask her about showing them, nor for using it to their advantage, as her Mother had said people would. But once they told her they were immortal and wouldn't need her power, she realized that not everyone wanted what she had. She had to smile, they were a great bunch of people, and if her mother would let her, she would like to stay with them as long as possible.

They quickly came upon a tiny island kingdom, situated not far from the mainland where a dense forest had sprung up. They flew over the kingdom, Rapunzel only asked so that she could see it before heading back home.

"There! There it is!" she pointed as the tower came into view.

"Wow, you guys are a ways out! No wonder why my fairies couldn't find it!" exclaimed Tooth. North and Jack glanced at each other. "Do you still have your baby teeth somewhere?"

"I don't know where Mother put them," sighed Rapunzel.

"Oh, well, my fairy and I will find them, don't worry about that," winked Tooth before she and her fairy went off to search. North glided in next to the window, and Jack jumped into the room before helping Rapunzel.

"Oh, thank you," she smiled at him as she took his hand and climbed down. She turned to North, "And thank you, Mr. North, for helping me get back home, that was really sweet of you." She gave him a little peck on the cheek.

"Ah, no worries! Hope you had fun! Oh, and here, Merry Christmas!" He tossed her something, and she quickly caught it.

"Why, it's, it's a . . ."

"A snow globe! Whenever you want to visit, just shake it up, and tell it where you want to go before throwing it, alright?"

"I will! Thank you so much!" she exclaimed as she hugged him.

"Yeah, but now we need to dismantle the Christmas tree," blurted Jack.

"What? Oh, my hair! Right," giggled Rapunzel.

"Alright, well, I must get back. See you back at North Pole, Jack! See you later, Tooth!"

"Bye North!" With the throw of the snow globe and a hiya, North was gone. Jack set about helping Rapunzel get her hair undone.

"We found your teeth! At least, most of them," announced Tooth as she and her fairy re-entered the main room.

"Wonderful! Um, why do you gather them?" asked Rapunzel from the floor where she and Jack were busy taking out her hair.

"Oh, I gather them to protect the memories of childhood. Every single good memory you have from your childhood is hidden in these teeth. And whenever you need to remember something from your past, we'll help with it."

"Oh, um, maybe not, I mean, I don't have very many great childhood memories."

"I'm sure they are. They're your childhood memories, they are great, no matter how few they may be, because they are yours," Tooth reassured her.

"There, that's the last ornament," sighed Jack as he added it to the pile. "At least those guys were smart enough to use the smaller, cuter ornaments," he grinned. "But, what are we going to do with all of this?"

Rapunzel gasped, "I know!" She moved towards the stairs and pried open the bottom step. "There's really not that much, it could all fit in here!"

"Pure genius, Rapunzel!" grinned Jack as he began placing the lights into the bottom step. As Rapunzel mentioned, it really wasn't a very large pile, the lights was the biggest part of the pile, and they took care of the ornaments fairly quick before helping Rapunzel close the step.

"Well, I need to get your teeth all set-up back at the Tooth Palace. It was wonderful to meet you Rapunzel. Hope your Easter Sunday is wonderful! Oh, and we should have Bunny come back and hide some eggs for you!" said Tooth as she hugged Rapunzel.

"Oh, that would be great! Thank you! And it was great to meet you too!" Rapunzel waved as Tooth flew off.

"Well, guess this is it, for now, but . . . oh, wait!"

"What?" Jack just grinned as a stream of pale blue light shot from his staff and straight to the ceiling. Rapunzel gasped, "Oh, it's snowing, inside my tower!" She laughed as she caught the snowflakes on her tongue, felt them under her toes, and watched them disappear into her hair. Jack grabbed her and spun around before the two fell over, the hair wrapped around them both.

"Oh, you don't want me to leave now, do you?"

Rapunzel laughed, "What? You're the one who wanted to spin!" The two glanced at each other for a few minutes while the snow melted around them before Rapunzel smiled. "Thank you, Jack, this was the best day of my entire life."

"Great! But you have that snow globe now, so I expect a visit from you soon."

"You can count on it."

"Rapunzel!"

Rapunzel gasped, whispering, "Oh no, Mother's back!"

"But you wanted to be back before she got back, right?" whispered Jack as they untangled themselves.

"But with you gone!"

"Don't worry, she won't see me," he winked as he stepped behind the curtains.

"Rapunzel!"

"Coming Mother!" Rapunzel lowered her hair and pulled up her mother.

"My goodness, Rapunzel, what took you so long? And why is the floor wet?"

"Oh, um, that's why I took so long, I mopped the floor and was picking up the mop and the bucket when you called."

"Oh, well it does make the floor look so much better. I'm going to take these groceries to the kitchen. While I do that, get the chair and the brush ready, will you?"

"Yes Mother."

"Good." She walked into the kitchen and Rapunzel quickly turned to the window. Jack was nowhere to be seen.

"Bye Jack," she whispered. She uttered a soft gasp when his pale form came down and kissed her nose.

"See you later, Sunshine," he winked before flying off. Rapunzel touched her nose as she quickly got the chair, the stool, and the brush, smiling. That day had been wonderful. She glanced at the mirror to try and wipe the smile off before her mother returned, oh yes, she would be visiting again. She glanced at her bedroom where she had quickly hidden the snow globe, she would be visiting again, and soon.


	22. Christmas Tree

Rapunzel grunted as she strained to put the star on the top of the tree. She was almost there! But she still couldn't quite reach it. Letting out a huff, she finally gave up and thought about doing what she should have done earlier, using her hair and the beams to lower herself, if not just the star. She let out another huff, and she knew why she didn't do that first, Jack had joked about her being so dependant on her hair. Though why the things he said to her she seemed to notice more than what her Mother said, she didn't know, but she did notice. So here she was, trying to put the star on the tree without the aid of her hair, and it was slightly frustrating. OK, really frustrating, but it did prove at how dependant she had become on her hair.

Rapunzel glanced between the star and the tree with determination, she was going to get it up there. She rolled up her sleeves, took a breath, and tried again. She reached and strained, and strained and reached, she could just barely reach the topmost branch. With a huff, she strained even harder, and the star finally slid into place.

"Yes! Ah!" She raised her arms in triumph, but leaned too far back, sending her tumbling backwards off the little ladder. At first everything seemed to slow down, but then the floor came racing up to meet her.

"Oh wow, I'm flattered, you're falling for me already? Well what can I say? I am a good catch." Rapunzel's eyes flew open and saw the mischief and a hint of concern sparkling in his blue eyes, his mouth flashing a smug grin.

"Jack!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a tight squeeze. She pulled back, giggling, "I guess you are a good catch, huh?" She indicated the fact that he had caught her.

He smirked, "Yeah, I have to be with you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"That you like getting saved by me."

"What? No I don't!" she scoffed as she crawled out of his arms.

"Oh really, huh? Then why does seem like you're always falling when I come by?"

"Because your wind pushes me, that's why," she quipped as she set about picking up the ladder.

"Uh-huh, right, nice try, Ray. Doesn't exactly work when the window's closed." His attention was drawn to the tree. "Good job on the tree though. Why didn't you use your hair to help you put up the star?" He smirked, "Were you hoping I would come save you again?"

"No, it's just . . . you keep mentioning about how much I rely on my hair to do things, so, I decided to try and do something without it, that's all."

"Hey, if you can use your hair to help you do something, then do it. I'd be happier knowing that you're alright."

Rapunzel sighed, "Oh alright, I'll do it to make you happy. But I thought you like saving me?"

"Oh, alright, you can get yourself into danger so that I can save you."

"Jack!" Rapunzel laughed. Jack just grinned and pulled her close, giving her a little kiss on the nose as their toes played with each other. The tree stood sparkling in the light with its silver tinsel and gold star, watching over their day like a decked-out sentry.


	23. The Seasons and Their Winds

A long time ago, when the world was still brand new, Lady Sun and Lord Moon had four daughters Their job was to take care of the changing of the seasons. Spring was governed by Marinette, summer was governed by Rapunzel, autumn was governed by Sakura, and winter was governed by Allura. Meanwhile, Father Time and Mother Nature also had four children, to take care of the winds of each season; Keith commanded the spring winds, Syaoran commanded the summer winds, Adrien commanded the autumn winds, and Jack commanded the winter winds. The two families knew of each other, but had never met. And that brought quite a few problems.

"Ugh!" shouted Allura as she slammed the front door behind her. She threw her arms up in frustration before plopping on the sofa next to Rapunzel. "Jack Frost is at it again!"

Rapunzel blinked. "Say what?"

Allura sighed. "The mortals have been calling him Jack Frost. And he's ruining winter with his crazy winds!"

"Oh come on Allura, he can't be that bad," said Rapunzel.

"Oh, but he is. He most certainly is that bad." She placed her head into a pillow, and screamed into it. Rapunzel glanced at Sakura and Marinette before glancing back at Allura. Sakura came to sit next to Allura and began massaging her back.

"What did he do this time?" she said with a sigh.

"He caused a blizzard . . . in Germany!" said Allura, her voice muffled by the pillow. She raised her head. "There aren't supposed to be any blizzards until January!"

"Well, um, did you tell him that?" said Rapunzel softly.

"Well . . . no."

"So, how could he have known?" said Rapunzel before going back to her book.

"It's so funny," said Marinette as she laid her head on her hands. She was on the floor drawing, but had paused to listen to the conversation. "We know of the four winds, but we've never met them."

Allura rolled her eyes. "Ugh, and they always mess up everything."

"Oh no," said Marinette defensively. "Keith is actually really nice."

"So is Syaoran," said Rapunzel.

"Everyone's nice in your book," muttered Allura. Rapunzel began to glare at her.

"Adrien can be a bit mischievous, but he is nice too," said Sakura quickly, glancing worriedly between her sisters.

"I think the point Rapunzel was trying to make," said Marinette, "was that maybe, if you talked to him, things might turn out differently. I mean, we can't exactly read each other's minds."

Allura sat up and sighed. "You have a point. But, how can I talk to him if I can't even see him?"

"Maybe it's time we had a meeting between the eight of you." The girls turned at the sound of the voice. There, in the doorway, stood Lord Moon, or Tsar Lunar, in some circles.

"Father!" exclaimed the girls as they bounced up and rushed to hug their father.

"But, how can we set up a meeting?" asked Rapunzel as they followed him to the sofa.

"Your mother and I would set up the meeting with Father Time and Mother Nature. I'll talk to your mother about it this evening, and then we'll make arrangements with Father Time and Mother Nature. I'm sure they're getting tired of it as well as their sons."

Meanwhile, Keith and Syaoran were berating Jack for the blizzard. Adrien decided to stay out of it, even though he wanted to back up Jack.

"Oh come on, how was I supposed to know that she didn't want the blizzard. I never see her! Besides, how did you find out that she didn't want the blizzard?"

"Uh, mom," said Keith. "She could hear Allura's complaints as she went back home."

Jack threw his arms in the air. "Ugh, of course. Will I ever hear it from Allura's own mouth?"

"If you'd like to, that can be arranged," said a voice from the doorway.

"Dad!" Adrien jumped up from his seat and nearly tackled his father with a hug.

Father Time chuckled as he hugged Adrien back. "Oh, I wish you'd never get too old for hugs." He glanced at his older three and gave them a wink. Jack gave him a grin and hugged him as well, followed by Syaoran and Keith.

"What did you mean by it could be arranged?" asked Keith.

"Your mother and have been talking about it, and we agree that the eight of you should meet."

"Why didn't we meet before?" asked Syaoran.

Father Time let out a sigh as he walked towards the sofa and sat down. "A prophecy."

The four boys groaned.

"Always a prophecy," mumbled Keith.

"Why?" asked Jack.

"Ugh, because people can't move forward without knowing the future, apparently," mumbled Syaoran, rolling his eyes.

"Besides, don't prophecies usually come true?" said Adrien. His brothers nodded and agreed.

Father Time chuckled as he ruffled Adrien's hair. "That they do. Lord Sky I guess wanted to prolong the inevitable."

"Ugh, go figure," said Keith with a roll of his eyes.

"So, what was the prophecy about?" asked Adrien.

"That if the eight of you met, that some places would get some strange weather. Sometimes all four seasons in one day."

"Uh, OK, what's wrong with that?" said Adrien with a shrug, glancing between his brothers and his father.

"Lord Sky wants some, uh, shall we say, uniformity. Snow stays in winter, really hot days stay in summer, stuff like that."

"I'm liable to bring winter into spring and autumn without meeting the girls," muttered Jack.

Keith glanced at him. "We know."

"Obviously Lord Sky doesn't."

"Then tell him, not us."

"Anyway," interrupted Father Time, "point is, it's no use putting off the inevitable. Your mother and I will talk with Lord Moon and Lady Sun to set up the best time and place for us to meet. We shall go from there."

"So, we actually would have met earlier had there not been this prophecy?" asked Jack.

"Most likely."

"Ugh, I think we need to get rid of prophecies, they seem to do more harm than good," said Jack.

"No kidding," muttered Keith.

"For us, anyway," said Syaoran as he sat down and picked up a book, "humans don't seem to look for them as much as we do."

"Maybe they're onto something," said Adrien.

Father Time chuckled as he stood up. "Well, we will set up a meeting with the girls then and get you eight talking."

"Good, we can finally talk about what we need to do for our seasons," said Syaoran.

"And get Jack to apologise," said Keith, pointing at Jack.

"What?"

Syaoran and Keith glared at Jack.

"Oh fine," grumbled Jack as he crossed his arms.

Father Time let out a sigh. "Be nice to each other, we'll talk more on it once we've set up the meeting."

"Yes sir," chorused the boys before delving into various activities. Keith and Jack went sparring, Syaoran read, and Adrien played with his pet cat.

The meeting was planned, and it came much quicker than they had anticipated. Mother Nature and Father Time took their sons over to Lord Moon and Lady Sun's house for the meeting. Lord Moon answered the door at Father Time's knock.

"Hello, my friend! So good of you to agree to meet here!" said Lord Moon as he and Father Time shook hands heartily.

"Well, it seemed to be the right thing to do," said Father Time before he led the way into the house.

"How do you suppose we introduce them?" asked Lord Moon as he led them towards the sitting room.

Father Time and Mother Nature chuckled as they glanced at their sons.

"I think figuring out who's the eldest is easy enough," said Mother Nature.

"So, I think we're in agreement? Season would be best?" said Father Time. Mother Nature nodded.

Lord Moon nodded. "Fair enough. I think my girls are easy enough too." They had entered the sitting room, and Lady Sun rose to greet Mother Nature with a hug.

"It's good to see you again."

Mother Nature snorted. "It's good to see you again, too, even though we practically work together on a daily basis." The two laughed.

"Well, boys, these are my daughters, in order of season, Marinette, Rapunzel, sakura, and Allura."

The girls curtsied. "How do you do?"

"And these are my boys, in order of season, Keith, Syaoran, Adrien, and Jack."

The boys stared at the girls and waved, somewhat.

"Uh, Adrien, what are you doing?" asked Father Time as Adrien moved Jack over.

Adrien waved and grinned at Marinette. "You're so pretty. Can I kiss you?"

"I, uh, um, say, uh, wha-, wait, what?" blurted Marinette as a blush came over her face.

Lady Sun giggled. "I think we're off to a good start."

"Well, that's odd," began Mother Nature.

"Hmm?" the other parents asked.

"I'm hearing wedding bells."

"Now darling . . ."

"Oooh, I hear them too!" said Lady Sun.

"My dear, let's not jump to conclusions . . ."

The two women glanced at their children's faces before glancing at their husbands. "Uh-huh," they said in unison before chuckling. But they did get the eight to sit down and finally start talking. And after several meetings later, the men were starting to hear the wedding bells themselves, the literal bells rang several months later. So, not only did they work together to make the seasons better, there were instances of the seasons creeping into other seasons, as Lord Sky feared. But he soon came to realize that it was for the best as the four couples were happy and very much in love.


	24. WonderCon

"I am so grateful that you guys could help me with this!" blurted Rapunzel as the group made their way towards a booth, each member of the party holding a box of her art.

Jack shot her a grin. "Come on, that's what friends are for! Right Keith?"

Keith shot him a look. "No, that's what a boyfriend is for who can manipulate his friends into helping."

"Oh come on man, it's not like you had anything else to do. Besides, two guys, plus two girls, am I right?" said Jack as he batted his eyelashes at Rapunzel and Allura.

"Ugh, will you quit it?" said Allura. She reached the booth first and set down her box.

"Yeah, come on Jack. Allura doesn't exactly like me, you know," said Keith as he put down his own box. He had his back to Allura, so he didn't see the look on her face. But Jack did and raised an amused eyebrow before glancing at Keith.

Jack sighed and shrugged as Keith glanced between him and Allura. "Yeah, sure dude. Keep telling yourself that." He set his box down right as Rapunzel put hers down. He placed his arm around her shoulders once they straightened up. "But your problems aren't going to ruin today for Rapunzel. I'm going to make sure of that." Jack grinned at Rapunzel.

Rapunzel chuckled before kissing Jack's cheek. "Thank you, Jack."

"Then why'd you drag me into all of this?" asked Keith.

Jack eyed him. "Because you can't just sit and mope around the house all day."

Keith rolled his eyes and sighed. "And because you needed help with your girl's booth, I just so happened to be one of the closest people you can drag into this."

"Well yeah, anything for my girl," said Jack with a grin before kissing her. "Now, let's get your booth set up."

"Yes!" said Rapunzel with a squeal. "My very own booth!" She gave a little bounce before she began directing the set-up. Allura jumped in with a few suggestions, while the guys simply did as they were told, though Keith scowled and Jack grinned. Rapunzel's two largest paintings, one a scene from Lord of the Rings and the other a scene from Princess Tutu, were front and center, and back to back. The smaller paintings were arranged around the two.

Jack laughed as he pulled out one painting. "Hey look, it's Keith!" He turned it around to show a painting of the Hulk.

Keith growled as he set down a painting. "I'm not the Hulk."

Jack placed the painting on the booth before approaching Keith with a laugh. "Oh yes you are, blowing up as often as you do. And, you get green with envy." Keith's head slowly turned towards Jack, who was grinning from ear to ear. Keith lunged, but Jack stepped to the side, and Keith nearly hit the floor. But he was instantly back up on his feet, and Jack took off, snickering.

"Come back here, you little twerp!" Keith shouted as he chased Jack around the booth. The two were wise enough to give the booth a wide enough of a berth so that the girls could finish putting up the artwork.

"Nah, Hulk can't catch Spider-Man!"

"There is no way you're Spider-Man! He can quip better than you can!"

Allura snorted. "Uh-oh, shots fired."

Rapunzel giggled. "I think Spider-Man would be more worried about what others said about his quips than Jack does." She pulled out another painting. "Besides, I think I know who Keith should be."

"Huh?" the guys asked. Keith had managed to get Jack into a strangle-hold and was about to give him a noogie. Rapunzel chuckled at the scene before turning the painting to show them.

"Keith's Batman, and I guess Jack's Robin!"

"I don't want him on my team, on anything," said Keith.

"But you do work so well together!" said Rapunzel cheerily. "And just like Batman and Robin, Keith is dark and broody while Jack is all smiles and fun!"

Jack wrangled himself out of Keith's grip and bounced over to the booth. Rapunzel and Allura laughed.

"Well then, guess that makes you Starfire," said Jack as he leaned in for a kiss with Rapunzel.

"Mm, I guess so. But then, what that make Allura?" The three glanced at her.

Jack glanced between her and Keith before his grin got bigger. "She's Catwoman."

Keith coughed as he stuttered. "W-what? No way! She's Batgirl."

Jack pffted. "Nah, man, she's definitely Catwoman. You just don't want to see it."

Keith growled and looked like he was about to charge after Jack again when he was interrupted by a voice.

"Wow, those paintings look great Rapunzel!"

"Hi Adrien, Marinette!" said Rapunzel as she waved at the couple. "So glad you could make it!" She dashed around the booth and wrapped Marinette in a warm hug.

"Yeah man!" said Jack as he high-fived Adrien. "I was sure your dad wouldn't let you come!"

Adrien grinned. "You can thank Marinette on that. She convinced him to let me come."

"And if there's anything I know about Gabriel Agreste, that was no easy feat," said Allura. She glanced at Marinette. "How did you manage it?"

Marinette shrugged. "I don't know, really. I just told Mr. Agreste that Adrien could use a break from his busy schedule and have some fun."

"Well, glad it worked out, either way. And perfect timing, too. We just finished setting up Rapunzel's booth."

"We just finished setting up her booth," said Allura, indicating herself and Rapunzel. "You two were running around like a couple of kids at the school gym."

"Was not!" blurted Keith as Jack burst out laughing.

Jack threw his arm around Keith's shoulders. "I think that was the most fun you've had in a while."

Keith threw his arm off with a scoff. "Whatever. Like you know what fun is."

"Uh, yeah I do. I'm the king of fun."

Adrien snickered. "I second that." Keith shot him a glare that said 'not helping'. Adrien just grinned and winked.

"Anyway, are you happy with how the booth looks, darling?" Jack asked Rapunzel.

Rapunzel scrutinized the booth before doing an excited bounce and letting out a squeal. "It's perfect!"

"It does look fantastic," said Adrien.

"No, it's amazing!" said Marinette.

Allura flipped her hair. "Of course it is, we did most of the work." She glanced at Keith. "But you did help by keeping Jack away from the booth."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" blurted Jack as Rapunzel, Marinette, and Adrien chuckled.

"Glad I was able to help with something." He smirked.

Jack huffed as he crossed his arms. "You've been revoked best friend privileges."

Keith shrugged. "Good, didn't want them."

"I'd take them, but Nino's already my best friend," remarked Adrien.

"Thanks Adrien."

"No problem."

Keith groaned and rolled his eyes.

Jack grinned and draped his arm around Rapunzel's shoulders. "So, your booth is perfect?"

Rapunzel giggled. "Absolutely."

Jack grabbed her hand and began to pull her away. "Great. Let's go."

Rapunzel pulled back on Jack's grip. "Wait, what? Where?"

Jack turned to her with a grin." Come on, did you think I'd let you sit behind that booth and not let you enjoy a bit of WonderCon?" He nodded at Keith and Allura. "Why do you think I dragged them into it?"

"Wait, what?" blurted Keith.

Rapunzel gasped as she looked to be on the verge of tears. "Oh Jack, that's, you, why you . . . you want me to actually experience WonderCon?"

Jack pressed his forehead to hers. "Well of course. I got Alya in on the whole thing too. Adrien and Marinette here are the signal to take you out for some fun."

"Oh so that's why it had to be us two specifically," remarked Adrien.

Jack kissed her nose. "What do you say, princess? Shall we see what wonders WonderCon has to offer?"

Keith groaned, but Rapunzel giggled. "Yes, Jack, let's go."

Jack glanced at Allura and Keith. "We'll be back in a few minutes. Wouldn't want Rapunzel to miss out on getting to sell her art either."

"Oh no, that would be a travesty," said Keith with a roll of his eyes. Allura snorted. Keith glanced at her in surprise.

Jack chuckled. "Looks like you two have got this covered. We'll be back soon to relieve you!"

"Wait what?" blurted Keith, but Jack was already running off with Rapunzel, Adrien, and Marinette in tow. Jack did glance back, and winked.


End file.
